Santa Clara County Firesafe Council East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Version 1 October 2009

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council www.SCCFireSafe.org

DUDEK - Engineering and Environmental Consultants 605 Third St. Encinitas, CA 92024 (800) 450-1818 www.dudek.com

East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Cover photo and photo above from the Suncrest Avenue Fire near Alum Rock Park, September 24, 2006 (Photos by Richard Brown)

Defensible Space photo from Living With Fire in Santa Clara County published by the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Executive Summary

Most of the area covered by the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD) coverage area. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF, now CAL FIRE) provides support in SJFD’s jurisdiction in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. In unincorporated Santa Clara County areas, SJFD provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County.

Development of this Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) was funded by a National Fire Plan grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management through the California Fire Safe Council and by local matching contributions from companies, organizations and individuals. This CWPP was prepared following the California Fire Alliance CWPP Planning Process and meets or exceeds the general objectives for CWPPs as well as the specific objectives established for this CWPP (see Section I.A.5). Dudek, an engineering and environmental consulting firm, was selected as the wildfire prevention planning consultants for this project and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council would like to acknowledge their guidance and contributions as well as the assistance, support and participation of many organizations, companies and people in preparing this CWPP as summarized in Section I.A.8.

Six field survey trips were made and eight reports and 20 field survey forms were compiled for the East Foothills CWPP area (see Section II.G.5 and Table II-2). The two most important results of the field surveys are: 1) More than adequate field observations and surveys were completed to support the fire behavior models, and 2) A number of large and small projects were identified which will reduce the potential risk of wildfires in various areas (see Section III.A.3 and Attachment F). Two separate fire hazard assessments were conducted in the preparation of this CWPP: a Geographic Information System (GIS)-generated fire hazard overlay map and an assessment of potential fire behavior and intensity using BehavePlus software (see Sections III.B and III.C).

Community participation is essential for this CWPP and future fuel reduction projects. Please e-mail any comments to Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

Conclusions

The five most important conclusions of this CWPP are: x The fire history data emphasize the potential risk for these urban interface areas (areas where at least one side faces wildlands) and intermix areas (areas encompassed by wildlands), especially when considering the continually increasing possibility for human- caused ignitions. Based on existing vegetation, topography, and typical weather conditions for East Foothills, the area is considered vulnerable to wildfire. The proximity of open space to residential structures and to scenic roadways increases the likelihood of

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Executive Summary

anthropogenic ignition (i.e., caused by human activity) from discarded cigarettes, automobiles, fireworks, and electrical transmission lines, etc. Additionally, the potential for spotting (burning embers entering or blowing into unburned vegetation) is high during dry, north and northeast wind-driven conflagrations (see Sections II.G.7 and II.G.8). x Alum Rock Park’s north-facing slopes provide a good example of where the existence of small, flashy fuels beneath shrubs and trees, especially in the interface areas, increases the potential for vertical fire spread. The presence of ladder fuels and other highly combustible vegetation, specifically pepper trees and eucalyptus, pines, palms and other non-native trees near interface and intermix residential structures, increases the potential for canopy fire and structural ignition (see Section II.G.8).

x Many homes were observed in high fire danger areas with good fire resistant roofs, protected eaves and more or less adequate Defensible Space around the homes. Conversely, many homes were also observed in high fire danger areas with old, wood shake roofs, unprotected eaves, fire prone trees and little or no Defensible Space around the homes. Often these were older homes interspersed among newer, more fire resistant homes (see Section III.A.2). x The San Jose Fire Department and CDF have very significant capabilities to fight and control wildland fires in this area. SJFD utilizes an effective “Tier” response plan (see Section II.H). Mutual aid from nearby fire departments is available when needed (see Sections II.H.3 and II.H.4). Increased fuel levels due to wet spring weather and quickly controlled wildfires have led to increased fuel accumulations and high fire danger conditions in many areas (see Section III.A.2). x The fuel reduction recommendations presented herein are part of an overall vegetation management program designed to reduce the continuity of fuels that could promote fire spread from open space areas into adjacent residential and developed areas (see Section II.G.8).

Additional conclusions are in Section V.A. Recommendations are provided to reduce hazards within the East Foothills priority WUI areas. These recommendations are based on known procedures that are specifically implemented to reduce fuel loading, break up fuel continuity, and reduce the likelihood that fire will affect valuable resources, either from wildfires reaching residences or from residential fires escaping into wildland areas (see Section IV.D). A number of high and medium priority projects were identified during this CWPP development process (see Section IV.E.1 and Attachment F.).

Next Steps

The following priorities and next steps are recommended for stakeholders and others involved in this Community Wildfire Protection Plan. These recommendations recognize that, while fire agencies and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council can provide education and recommendations, private and public property owners have the primary responsibility for preventing wildfire-related losses to their homes and properties.

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Executive Summary

x Santa Clara County FireSafe Council: Continue to enhance and deliver Community Outreach and Education programs to educate and enable property owners and residents to create Defensible Space around their homes and communities. This is the most important and effective SCFSC activity (see Section IV.E.1). While SCFSC can and should organize other projects, such as chipping programs, Community Outreach and Education is the most important and effective SCFSC activity because it is the best use of our limited federal and local funding.

x Fire Agencies (including CDF, San Jose Fire Department and Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department): Continue to promote wildfire prevention and education and initiate new programs whenever possible. Continue to support Wildfire Awareness Week, which is sponsored by the CDF and the California Fire Safe Council, and supported locally by the fire agencies and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, each spring at the start of fire season. Participate in and support the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and other organizations. Consider more home and property inspections for identified “at-risk” properties, such as the inspections used in other counties for WUI communities, and provide implementable recommendations that will help prevent losses from wildfires for typical WUI residents.

x Homeowners, Homeowners Associations and Residents: Replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space around homes and other structures. The most important recommendations include (see Section IV.E.1): - Replace wood shake roofs with Class A roofs – This alone may save your home - Create at least 100 feet of Defensible Space around homes - Utilize knowledgeable contractors who follow industry standards for vegetation thinning - Ensure that house numbers are easily visible from the street (both day and night) - Call local utilities, especially electric companies, to clear branches around utility lines - Contact your local fire agency for specifics for your area or property (see Page ix for Contact Information). Utilize the user-friendly information available from your local fire agency, the CDF, SCFSC, FireWise, and other sources to protect your home and community.

x Large Public and Private Property Owners (including Cities, County, Open Space Authorities, Parks, Utilities and other Companies): Follow the homeowner recommendations above and other guidelines to create Defensible Space around homes and other buildings and structures. Support and assist the fire agencies, SCFSC and others with their public outreach wildfire prevention and other programs. Continue to support Wildfire Awareness Week. Consider making local matching grants and contributions to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council to enable the council to secure more federal grants for Santa Clara County.

x City and County Jurisdictions: Continue to support local fuel reduction and vegetation management programs, especially at the start of fire season and later in the year when grassy fuels have increased and are dry. Consider updates to Locally Declared Hazardous Fire Zones and other changes to recognize that more homes are being built in high fire danger areas as well as changes to promote and regulate the use of Class A roofs, enhanced

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Executive Summary

fire-resistive construction materials and techniques, and other practices that will reduce the losses from wildfires.

Continue to implement and promote the wildfire related mitigation strategies in the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted by Santa Clara County and other jurisdictions (see Section I.B.4).

This grant was managed under the direction of the President and other Officers and Directors of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. Technical direction was provided by the CDF, San Jose Fire Department and by Dudek, the wildfire prevention planning consultants.

The views and conclusions in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, local government or fire agencies, or the U.S. Government. Mention of companies, trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council or the U.S. Government.

This Community Wildfire Protection Plan has now been approved by the San Jose Fire Department (as the primary fire agency for this area), CAL FIRE (as the State Forester and a fire agency responsible for this area), the San Jose City Council and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The content of this version (Version 1) is the same as the last Public Draft.

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I. Introduction ...... 1 A. Purpose, Objectives and Acknowledgements ...... 1 1. Purpose ...... 1 2. Community Wildfire Protection Plans ...... 1 3. East Foothills ...... 1 4. Santa Clara County FireSafe Council ...... 2 5. Objectives ...... 3 6. Scope ...... 3 7. Version History ...... 4 8. Acknowledgements ...... 4 B. CWPP Planning Process ...... 5 1. Funding/Grant Acquisition and Management ...... 5 2. Consultant Selection and Oversight ...... 6 3. Coordination with Stakeholders and Decision Makers ...... 6 4. Review of Available East Foothills Area Wildfire Planning Documents ...... 6 5. Public Outreach ...... 7 C. Fire Safety Policies and Practices ...... 7 1. Structural Ignitability ...... 7 2. Vegetation Management and Fuel Reduction ...... 9 D. Stakeholders and Decision Makers ...... 11 1. Decision Makers ...... 11 2. Santa Clara County FireSafe Council ...... 13 3. Involved Parties ...... 13 E. Community Outreach/Public Education ...... 14 II. East Foothills Wildfire Planning Area ...... 16 A. East Foothills Area ...... 16 B. Community Base Map ...... 16 C. Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Areas ...... 20 D. Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area ...... 23 E. Large Open Space Areas ...... 23 1. Alum Rock Park ...... 23 2. Joseph D. Grant County Park...... 25 3. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Properties ...... 26 F. Demographic Data ...... 28 G. Site Characteristics ...... 29 1. Surrounding Area ...... 29 2. Fire Environment ...... 31 3. Climate ...... 31 4. Topography ...... 32 5. Vegetation ...... 34 6. Vegetation Dynamics ...... 37 7. Fire History ...... 38 8. Fire Starts and On-Site Fire Potential ...... 43 9. Asset Distribution ...... 43

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H. Fire Department Response ...... 44 1. San Jose Fire Department ...... 44 2. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ...... 47 3. Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department ...... 48 4. Adjacent Fire Agencies ...... 49 5. Mutual Aid Agreements/Automatic Aid ...... 49 I. Firefighting Infrastructure ...... 51 1. Access and Egress ...... 52 2. Water Supply and Availability ...... 53 J. Insurance Companies ...... 54 III. Procedures ...... 58 A. Field Assessment ...... 58 1. Methods...... 58 2. Observations ...... 59 3. Results ...... 59 B. Fire Behavior Models ...... 60 C. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analysis ...... 60 1. Fire Hazard Overlay Map ...... 60 2. Fire Behavior Analysis ...... 66 IV. Wildfire Management and Mitigation Strategy ...... 77 A. Community Risk Assessment ...... 77 B. Community Priority Areas...... 77 C. Identification of WUI Priority Areas ...... 77 1. Methods...... 77 2. Site Evaluation Results ...... 78 3. Coordination With Stakeholders ...... 79 D. Hazard Reduction Recommendations/Prescriptions ...... 79 1. Fuel Reduction ...... 79 2. Structural Ignitability Reduction ...... 80 3. Fuel Management Recommendations ...... 84 4. Structural Ignitability Reduction Strategy ...... 86 E. Action Plan and Assessment Strategy ...... 88 1. Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project Identification ...... 88 2. Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project Implementation ...... 90 3. SCFSC Funding ...... 91 4. Timeline ...... 92 5. Funding Requirements ...... 92 6. Contractor Specifications and Bid Package Preparation ...... 92 7. Importance of Long-term Maintenance ...... 93 V. Conclusions and Next Steps ...... 94 A. Conclusions ...... 94 B. Next Steps ...... 96 C. CWPP Finalization ...... 98

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Figures Figure II-1: East Foothills Community Base Map ...... 17 Figure II-2: Santa Clara County Land Use Map ...... 18 Figure II-3: East Foothills Census Designated Place Map ...... 19 Figure II-4: Santa Clara County State Resource Areas ...... 21 Figure II-5: Santa Clara County Fire Districts ...... 22 Figure II-6: East Foothills Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area ...... 24 Figure II-7: Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Properties ...... 27 Figure II-8: Alum Rock Park Area Topography ...... 33 Figure II-9: Example East Foothills Area 2005 Vegetation ...... 35 Figure II-10: Santa Clara County Fire History Map ...... 39 Figure III-1: East Foothills Fire Hazard Overlay Map ...... 65 Figure III-2: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 3 in the East Foothills Area ...... 70 Figure III-3: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 4 in the East Foothills Area ...... 71 Figure III-4: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 8 in the East Foothills Area ...... 72 Figure III-5: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 9 in the East Foothills Area ...... 73 Figure III-6: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 18 in the East Foothills Area ..... 74 Figure IV-1: Structure Setback Using Slope, Eaves Height, and Imaginary Slope Line ... 83 Figure IV-2: Flame Front Advances Toward the Road on 10/28/03, 2:22 PM ...... 87 Figure IV-3: Flame Front Crossing the Road at 2:23 PM ...... 87 Figure IV-4: Flame Front Has Crossed the Road in Three Minutes at 2:25 PM ...... 87

Tables Table II-1: Selected East Foothills CWPP Area Demographic Data...... 28 Table II-2: East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan Area Summary ...... 36 Table II-3: East Foothills and Surrounding Area Fire History Analysis ...... 40 Table II-4: San Jose Fire Department Battalion 2 ...... 45 Table III-1: Slope Value Weights ...... 61 Table III-2: Aspect Value Weights ...... 62 Table III-3: Vegetation and Fuel Model Classifications...... 63 Table III-4: Fire Hazard Classification Ranges for the East Foothills FHOM ...... 64 Table III-5: BehavePlus Weather and Slope Inputs ...... 75 Table III-6: Vegetation Fire Behavior Outputs – Onshore Weather Pattern ...... 75 Table III-7: Vegetation Fire Behavior Outputs – Extreme Weather Pattern ...... 76 Table IV-1: Required Defensible Space ...... 82 Table IV-2: Recommended Defensible Space Distances ...... 83 Table IV-3: Forecast SCFSC Hazardous Fuel Reduction Expenses ...... 92

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Attachments Attachment A: San Jose Fire Department Special Bulletin/Topical #240 On Wildland Fire Prevention and Response Readiness dated April 28, 2005 Attachment B-1:* “Taming Natural Disasters,” Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/ABAG_Report.pdf) Attachment B-2:* Santa Clara County Annex to Attachment B-1 (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/ABAG_Report_SCC_Annex.pdf) Attachment B-3:* Santa Clara County Infrastructure Mitigation Strategies for Attachments B-1 and B-2 (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/ABAG_Report_SCC_Mitigation_Strategies.pdf) Attachment C:* Santa Clara County Structural Ignitability Policies and Practices (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/SCC_2001_CFC_Amendments.pdf) Attachment D: East Foothills Field Assessment Results Attachment E: Fire Resistant and Undesirable Plant Lists Attachment F: East Foothills Fuel Reduction Projects * Attachments B-1 – B-3 and C are distributed separately

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Contact Information

Important non-emergency contact information for local agencies and others identified in this Community Wildfire Protection Plan is below. For Emergencies, call 911.

CDF (now CAL FIRE), (California Department (408) 779-2121, www.fire.ca.gov of Forestry and Fire Protection) Milpitas Fire Department (408) 586-2800, www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/citydept/fire/ Pacific Gas and Electric Company 1 (800) 800 743-5000, www.pge.com San Jose Fire Department (408) 277-4444, www.sjfd.org San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood (408) 535-3570, Services www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/ San Jose Water Company (408) 279-7900, www.sjwater.com Santa Clara County Fire Department (408) 378-4010 or 1 (800) 800-1742, www.sccfd.org Santa Clara County Fire Marshal's Office (408) 299-5760, www.sccgov.org/portal/site/fmo/ Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (408) 975-9591, www.SCCFireSafe.org Santa Clara County Weed Abatement Program (408) 282-3145, www.sccgov.org/portal/site/ag/ Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (408) 224-7476, www.openspaceauthority.org Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation (408) 355-2200, www.parkhere.org Department Santa Clara County Roads and Airports (408) 494-2700, Department www.sccgov.org/portal/site/rda/ Santa Clara Valley Water District (408) 265-2600, www.valleywater.org Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department (408) 891-5551, www.svvfd.org

Community participation is essential for this CWPP and future fuel reduction projects. Please e-mail any questions or comments to Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

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Santa Clara County FireSafe Council East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

I. Introduction

A. Purpose, Objectives and Acknowledgements

1. Purpose

The purpose of this document is to establish an initial Community Wildfire Protection Plan for the East Foothills communities. The development of this plan follows the California Fire Alliance Community Wildfire Protection Plan Planning Process1 summarized below.

2. Community Wildfire Protection Plans

The California Fire Alliance encourages the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) as defined by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA). A CWPP is a community plan to reduce the risk of wildfires. The CWPP identifies strategic sites and methods for fuel reduction projects and enables a community to plan how it will reduce the risk of wildfires.2

Benefits to the community of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan include: x Communities can help determine the appropriate boundaries for the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) covered in their CWPP. x Communities with CWPPs are given priority for Federal grants for projects to reduce hazardous fuels. x Federal Agencies can use alternative environmental compliance options to expedite fuel reduction projects identified in CWPPs. x Communities can organize projects, based on CWPPs, to build fuel breaks and reduce fire prone fuels without federal funding.

3. East Foothills

East Foothills is both a Census Designated Place and a commonly used name for the foothills east of the City of San Jose, California. East Foothills and San Jose are designated Communities at Risk from wildfires on the California Fire Alliance list of Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County.3 San Jose is, of course, a large city and only parts of the city, primarily on the east and south sides, are at risk from wildfires.

1 See http://www.cafirealliance.org/cwpp/. The California Fire Alliance member agencies include the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), the USDA Forest Service, the California Fire Safe Council, the USDI Bureau of Land Management, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 2 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Documents/CWPP_Handout.pdf for more information. 3 See http://www.cafirealliance.org/communities_at_risk/communities_at_risk_list. Filter the results by County Name and Search for Santa Clara to see the Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County.

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East Foothills is used as the name for this Community Wildfire Protection Plan because it is the general name for this area east of San Jose. Most of the area covered by the East Foothills CWPP is in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Only a few specific areas (e.g., Alum Rock Park) are within the San Jose City Limits. More information on this area is below, including the community characteristics, major stakeholders and vegetation.

Most of the area covered by the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD)4 coverage area. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF, now CAL FIRE)5 provides support in SJFD’s jurisdiction in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. In unincorporated Santa Clara County areas, SJFD provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County.

4. Santa Clara County FireSafe Council

This Community Wildfire Protection Plan was developed by the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCFSC)6 and Dudek,7 our wildfire prevention planning consultants for this project, with the assistance and participation of many organizations, companies and individuals as acknowledged below. Funding for the development of this CWPP was provided by a federal grant and local matching funding as outlined below.

The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is a County-wide, non-profit organization composed of individuals, public and private agencies and companies that share a common, vested interest in preventing and reducing losses from wildfires. The mission of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is to mobilize the people of Santa Clara County to protect their homes, communities and environment from wildfires.

SCFSC participants include the CDF, Santa Clara County Fire Department, San Jose Fire Department, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Department, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and San Jose Water Company as well as other fire protection agencies and volunteer fire departments, homeowners associations and individuals.

Community participation is essential for this CWPP and future hazardous fuel reduction projects in this area. Please e-mail any questions or comments to Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

4 See http://www.sjfd.org 5 See http://www.fire.ca.gov. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is implementing its new name, CAL FIRE, effective January 2007. 6 See http://www.SCCFireSafe.org 7 See http://www.dudek.com/

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5. Objectives

The general objectives of Community Wildfire Protection Plans are to:8 x Provide comprehensive Forest planning and prioritization x Provide a mechanism for federal agencies to give meaningful considerations to community priorities x Open community debate regarding management options x Provide maximum flexibility for communities to determine the substance and detail of their plans x Merge the goals and objectives of the landowners with the needs and expectations of the community regarding fire risk reduction x Coordinate fire protection strategies across property boundaries x Coordinate grant funding and federal program budgets to achieve the most effective results with limited funding

The objectives for this CWPP include the general CWPP objectives above even though there are no federal forests or other federal lands in East Foothills. Additional, specific objectives for this East Foothills CWPP include: x Encourage and enable East Foothills property owners and residents to create and maintain Defensible Space around their homes and neighborhoods x Identity fuel reduction projects that can be completed through stakeholder and community cooperation without federal grants x Identity and plan fuel reduction projects for which federal grants or other funding sources are needed

6. Scope

The scope of this East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is limited to wildfire prevention and protection for the East Foothills area defined below. Prevention of other fires (e.g., internal structure fires) is addressed by local fire agencies and is outside the scope of this plan. This CWPP is one of two CWPPs now being developed for high fire danger areas of Santa Clara County (the other CWPP is for the Croy Fire Area west of Morgan Hill). SCFSC plans to develop CWPPs for other high fire danger areas of the County when funding is available. This CWPP is coordinated with and references other wildfire planning documents as noted below.

SCFSC decided to develop CWPPs for specific Communities at Risk, rather than an overall County CWPP, for several reasons: x The existing CDF Fire Management Plan (see below) covers the entire County and there is no need to duplicate this plan. Rather, our CWPPs provide additional details, plans and projects for specific high fire danger areas.

8 See http://www.cafirealliance.org/cwpp/downloads/cwpp_template.doc

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x Our objectives above include developing CWPPs that address specific Communities at Risk in depth, with specific and detailed plans and projects.

x A large area of the County is part of Silicon Valley and is within cities and other urbanized areas that are not prone to wildfires.

7. Version History

Version Date Purpose Version 1 October 2009 First approved version (content same as last Public Draft)

8. Acknowledgements

The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council would like to acknowledge the assistance and participation of many organizations, companies and people in preparing this Community Wildfire Protection Plan. In particular, the cooperation and assistance of the San Jose Fire Department throughout the preparation of this CWPP is appreciated. SJFD Battalion Chief José Luna and Wildland Officer Captain José Guerrero guided and participated in the field surveys, wildfire hazard prioritization and fuel reduction project selection. CDF Division Chief Dave Athey provided encouragement and guided the CDF review of this CWPP. San Jose Alum Rock Park Facilities Supervisor Mike McClintock and Ranger Doug Colbeck participated in the field surveys and organized the work on the Crothers Road Fuel Break. SCFSC President and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority9 General Manager Pat Congdon contributed wildfire history and information related to SCCOSA properties in this area. The other SCFSC Officers and Directors also encouraged and guided the preparation of this CWPP. Many community members, notably Gary Rauh, also contributed to the preparation of this CWPP. Captain José Guerrero organized the SJFD reviews of this CWPP. Many others also contributed to the reviews of this document. Their comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Dudek was selected as the consultants for this project and SCFSC would like to acknowledge the guidance and participation of Mike Huff and Scott Eckardt throughout the preparation of this CWPP. The Dudek contributions are summarized below (Section I.B.2).

Local matching funding for the federal grant was required to develop this CWPP and SCFSC would like to acknowledge the financial contributions of the following companies and individuals to this CWPP and related Community Outreach and Education programs: x Pacific Gas and Electric Company x San Jose Water Company x Santa Clara Valley Water District x San Jose Fire Fighters, Local 230 x State Farm Insurance x Individual contributors

9 See http://www.openspaceauthority.org

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SCFSC Executive Coordinator Jan Cokely, CDF Battalion Chief Dave Athey, Darren Deffner and Chris Hughes of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Andy Gere of San Jose Water Company, Mark Wander, Chris Elias and Director Richard Santos of Santa Clara Valley Water District, San Jose Fire Department Fire Captains Juan Diaz and José Guerrero, and Rudy Rodriguez and Sevag Sarkissian of State Farm Insurance, were instrumental in applying for, arranging and supporting these financial contributions.

While the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council acknowledges and appreciates the assistance and participation of the many organizations, companies and individuals above, only the Council and the authors are responsible for the contents of this Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

B. CWPP Planning Process

1. Funding/Grant Acquisition and Management

In 2005, The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council was selected for a National Fire Plan10 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management11 through the California Fire Safe Council.12 The California Fire Safe Council is the grant administrator for this grant (06-BLM-9168).

This grant is for a Hazardous Fuel Assessment and Strategy Project to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans for selected Communities at Risk from wildfires on the Federal and California Fire Alliance lists of Communities at Risk from wildfires in Santa Clara County. The Communities at Risk for this project are East Foothills, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose and San Martin including the unincorporated areas around these communities. This CWPP is for the East Foothills and adjacent areas east of San Jose. Another CWPP is being developed for the Croy Fire Area west of Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin.

The term for this grant is November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2007. Work began on this project in late 2005 and the federal grant was funded in early 2006.

As noted above under Acknowledgments, local matching funding for this federal grant was required and SCFSC would like to acknowledge the financial contributions of the companies and individuals listed above to this CWPP and related Community Outreach and Education.

10 See http://www.fireplan.gov 11 See http://www.blm.gov 12 See http://www.firesafecouncil.org

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companies, trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council or the U.S. Government.

2. Consultant Selection and Oversight

The consultants for this project, Dudek, responded to a competitive RFP for this project and were selected by the Officers and Directors of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council based on their competitive bid and references. Oversight was provided by the SCFSC Officers and Directors.

Founded in 1980, Dudek is a leading Southern California engineering and environmental consulting firm with 200 employees. Headquartered in Encinitas in San Diego County, Dudek also has offices in Riverside, Orange, Santa Barbara and Sacramento counties. Dudek specializes in providing solutions for regulatory and technical challenges for a variety of clients, including municipal agencies, non-profit entities, and major land owners throughout California.

Dudek includes a diverse staff of environmental scientists, urban forest planners, landscape architects, engineers, and geologists so that the right expertise and resources can be matched to project needs – from complete teams integrating multiple disciplines for large, complex projects to individual specialists for solving specific issues.

Dudek’s urban and community forestry group specializes in urban forestry related issues including wildfire prevention planning. The group includes registered professional foresters, certified foresters, urban foresters, landscape architects and arborists with experience analyzing and mitigating WUI wildfire risks.

3. Coordination with Stakeholders and Decision Makers

Coordination with and among stakeholders and decision makers is a primary objective of the development process for this CWPP. Coordination with the fire agencies and other stakeholders involved in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council started in late 2004 when they were asked to review and approve the initial Concept Paper and to provide Letters of Support for this project.

Coordination with other stakeholders and decision makers started in late 2005 after SCFSC was notified that we had been selected for this grant. The primary stakeholders and decision makers for this CWPP are listed in Section I.D below.

4. Review of Available East Foothills Area Wildfire Planning Documents

The East Foothills area is described in the CDF Santa Clara Unit Fire Management Plan for Battalion Two (San Jose).13 This document is a primary planning document and reference for this CWPP.

A number of San Jose Fire Department (SJFD) documents and other information were also used for planning and as references for this project. In particular, the SJFD Wildland Urban Interface Zones and SJFD Special Bulletin/Procedural #273 On Wildland Fire Prevention and Response

13 The 2005 CDF Fire Management Plan is at http://www.sccfiresafe.org/FireSafe/SCUFirePlan.pdf (large PDF File)

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Readiness dated May 19, 2006 (Attachment A) were used as references for this project. Additional information on the SJFD WUI Zones and this Special Bulletin is below.

Santa Clara County is part of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), which sponsored the preparation of Federally-Mandated Local Hazard Mitigation Plans in this area.14 These plans consider wildfires as well as other natural disasters. Santa Clara County has adopted “Taming Natural Disasters,” the ABAG Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Santa Clara County Annex to this plan.15 The Santa Clara County plan was approved by FEMA on April 24, 2005.16 The ABAG plan is Attachment B-1 to this CWPP and the related Santa Clara County Documents are Attachments B-2 and B-3. More information on these mitigation plans is in Sections I.C.1, I.C.2, I.E and II.I below.

Various other CDF, SJFD, City of San Jose and Santa Clara County documents were also used as references as identified below, particularly for the structural ignitability section of this CWPP.

5. Public Outreach

Public outreach for this project started in late 2005. The SCFSC Web site and newsletters and local community newsletters were used for public outreach as well as community meetings and events. A Stakeholder and Community Meetings plan was prepared as part of this project and an Introduction to Community Wildfire Protection Plans17 was developed for stakeholder and other community meetings.

Community participation is essential for this CWPP and future fuel reduction projects. Please e-mail any comments to Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

Community Outreach and Education to encourage and enable property owners and residents to create and maintain Defensible Space around their homes and communities are an important part of this project as outlined in Section I.E below.

C. Fire Safety Policies and Practices

1. Structural Ignitability

The Structural Ignitability Policies and Practices of the following entities were researched for this Community Wildfire Protection Plan. x Santa Clara County x San Jose Fire Department x City of San Jose

14 See www.abag.ca.gov and http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/eqmaps/wildfire/ for more information. 15 The ABAG plan is available at http://quake.abag.ca.gov/mitigation/ThePlan-Version-Mar05.pdf. 16 See http://www.fema.gov/plan/mitplanning/approved_plans_reg9.shtm#2. Click on California and look under ABAG. Note that some cities in this area have approved plans. 17 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Documents/CWPP_Handout.pdf

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x California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

More information on these policies and practices is below and in Attachment C. The most important provisions related to wildfire prevention can be summarized as follows.

a. Defensible Space

In its Special Bulletin on Wildland Fire Prevention and Response Readiness (Attachment A), the San Jose Fire Department recommends that property owners should extend vegetation clearance to 100-feet around structures when possible, even if they are not situated in a Very High Fire Danger Severity Zone (VHFDSZ). Currently, CDF does not have any areas within the San Jose Fire Department Local Area Responsibility or State Response Area in Santa Clara County that is considered a VHFDSZ. During the Southern California fires of 2003, it was proven that, in many cases, 30-foot clearance was not sufficient to prevent fire spread, or not enough clearance to protect homes.

The fire agencies that serve Wildland Urban Interface areas in Santa Clara County, as well as SCFSC, have active Community Outreach and Education programs to educate and enable property owners and residents to create and maintain Defensible Space around their properties and communities. In the East Foothills CWPP area, the San Jose Fire Department, CDF and SCFSC all promote creating and maintaining Defensible Space and are all in the process of extending their Defensible Space recommendations or requirements from 30 feet to 100 feet.

Additional Defensible Space recommendations and Mitigation Strategies are in Section I.C.2 below.

b. Roofing Requirements

Only Class C roofs are required within the San Jose City Limits and in unincorporated Santa Clara County outside of the “Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area” (see Section II.D). A Class A roof is required within the “Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area,” generally on the east and north sides of the East Foothills CWPP area.

However, SJFD and SCFSC both stress the importance of roofing materials and SCFSC recommends Class A roofing materials for WUI zones.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted by Santa Clara County (see Section I.B.4) includes the following Wildfire Mitigation Strategies related to Roofing Requirements and other aspects of Structural Ignitibility: x Require that new homes in wildland-urban-interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat be constructed of fire-resistant building materials (including roofing and exterior walls) and incorporate fire-resistant design features (such as minimal use of eaves, internal corners, and open first floors) to increase structural survivability and reduce ignitability. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 3, Page 14)

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x Adopt and/or amend, as needed, updated versions of the California Building and Fire Codes so that optimal fire-protection standards are used in construction and renovation projects. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 6, Page 14) x Create a mechanism to enforce provisions of the California Building and Fire Codes and local housing codes that require the installation of smoke detectors and/or fire- extinguishing systems by making installation a condition of (a) finalizing a permit for any work on existing properties valued at over a fixed amount, such as $500 or $1000, and/or (b) a condition for the transfer of property if these changes are determined cost-effective strategies. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 7, Page 15) x Require fire sprinklers in new homes located more than 1.5 miles or a 5-minute response time from a fire station or in an identified high hazard wildland-urban-interface wildfire area. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 13, Page 15)

See Attachment B-1 for these items (the same or similar items are in other sections of Attachment B-1) and Attachments B-2 and B-3 for the Santa Clara County plan for these items.

2. Vegetation Management and Fuel Reduction

The Defensible Space aspects of Vegetation Management and Fuel Reduction are summarized in Section I.C.1 above. In addition to promoting Defensible Space, SCFSC also organizes and applies for grants to fund Hazardous Fuel Assessment and Strategy projects, such as this CWPP, and Hazardous Fuel Reduction projects, such as the Crothers Road Fuel Break (see below).

While property owners have the primary responsibility for vegetation management and fuel reduction on their properties, as noted above, specific objectives for this CWPP include identifying fuel reduction projects that can be completed through stakeholder and community cooperation without federal grants as well as identifying fuel reduction projects for which federal grants or other funding sources are needed.

The Santa Clara County Vegetation Management program is now part of the Division of Agriculture.18 The mission of the Santa Clara County Department of Agriculture Weed Abatement Program is to protect lives, property, and the environment, by providing education and hazard abatement for the communities served. The goal of this program is voluntary compliance and representatives of this group participate in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted by Santa Clara County (see Section I.B.4) includes the following Wildfire Mitigation Strategies related to Vegetation Management and Fuel Reduction: x Develop a defensible space vegetation program that includes the clearing or thinning of (a) non-fire resistive vegetation within 30 feet of access and evacuation roads and routes to critical facilities, or (b) all non-native species (such as eucalyptus and pine, but not necessarily oaks) within 30 feet of access and evacuation roads and routes to critical facilities. (Wildfire Item 3, Page 7)

18 See http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/ag/ and click on Weed Abatement Program in the list at the left.

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x Increase efforts to reduce hazards in existing development in high wildfire hazard areas (identified as wildland-urban-interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat) through improving engineering design and vegetation management for mitigation, appropriate code enforcement, and public education on defensible space mitigation strategies. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 1, Page 14) x Tie public education on defensible space and a comprehensive defensible space ordinance to a field program of enforcement. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 2, Page 14) x Develop financial incentives for homeowners to be “model” defensible space homes in neighborhoods that are wildland-urban- interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 4, Page 14) x Expand vegetation management programs in wildland-urban- interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat to more effectively manage the fuel load through roadside collection and chipping, mechanical fuel reduction equipment, selected harvesting, use of goats or other organic methods of fuel reduction, and selected use of controlled burning. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 9, Page 15) x Establish a Fire Hazard Abatement District to fund reduction in fire risk of existing properties through vegetation management that includes reduction of fuel loads, use of defensible space, and fuel breaks. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 11, Page 15) x Ensure that fire-preventive vegetation-management techniques and practices for creek sides and high-slope areas do not contribute to the landslide and erosion hazard. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 18, Page 15) x Better inform residents of comprehensive mitigation activities, including elevation of appliances above expected flood levels, use of fire-resistant roofing and defensible space in high wildfire threat and wildfire-urban-interface areas, structural retrofitting techniques for older homes, and use of intelligent grading practices through workshops, publications, and media announcements and events. (Public Education Item 3, Page 17) x Assist residents in the development of defensible space through the use of, for example, “tool libraries” for weed abatement tools, roadside collection and/or chipping services (for brush, weeds, and tree branches) in wildland-urban-interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat. (Public Education Item 9, Page 17) x Establish a buffer zone between residential properties and landslide or wildfire hazard areas. (Hillside – Multi-Hazard Item 1, Page 31) x Discourage, add additional mitigation strategies, or prevent construction on slopes greater than a set percentage, such as 15%, due to landslide or wildfire hazard concerns. (Hillside – Multi-Hazard Item 2, Page 31)

See Attachment B-1 for these items (the same or similar items are in other sections of Attachment B-1) and Attachments B-2 and B-3 for the Santa Clara County plan for these items.

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D. Stakeholders and Decision Makers

1. Decision Makers

a. Local Government

The East Foothills CWPP Area is in Santa Clara County District 3 represented by Supervisor Pete McHugh (Chief of Staff Mike McInerney).

The East Foothills CWPP Area covers the southeast end of City of San Jose District 4, the east end of District 5 and the northeast end of District 8. The San Jose Councilmembers for these districts are: x Councilmember, District 4 (Chuck Reed, who was the District 4 Councilmember, is now the mayor of San Jose and a special election will be held to select a replacement councilmember for District 4) x Councilmember Nora Campos, District 5 x Councilmember Dave Cortese, District 8

The Sphere of Influence for these districts extends well into unincorporated Santa Clara County. Our primary contact for these San Jose Councilmembers is Francis Zamora, the Communications Director for Councilmember Campos. We (SJFD, CDF and SCFSC) met with representatives for these three councilmembers early in this CWPP project to brief them on our plans and enlist their support.

Our work with key SJFD and other City of San Jose departmental stakeholders and decision makers listed below is essential in building the councilmembers’ support for this CWPP.

b. Local Fire Agency

As noted above, most of the area covered by the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the San Jose Fire Department coverage area and, in unincorporated Santa Clara County areas, SJFD provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County.

For the East Foothills CWPP, we have worked primarily with Battalion Chief José Luna and the SJFD Wildland Officer, Fire Captain José Guerrero. Chief Luna is one of the three Battalion Chiefs responsible for the seven SJFD fire stations on the east side of San Jose. He participated in a number of the field surveys and defined the additional areas SJFD would like to have included in this CWPP.

Captain Guerrero is the SJFD Wildland Officer, the SJFD representative to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and our primary contact for this project. He is very familiar with the East Foothills area because he worked at Station 2 in East San Jose with Chief Luna before he became the Wildland Officer.

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c. CDF or CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection)

The CDF (now CAL FIRE) provides support in SJFD’s jurisdiction in Wildland Urban Interface areas and is responsible for areas on the east side of, and east of, the East Foothills CWPP area. The CDF is also the state forester for purposes of this CWPP.

Chief John Ellis is now the CDF Santa Clara Unit Chief. The Santa Clara Unit headquarters is in Morgan Hill, just south of San Jose. Division Chief Dave Athey was involved in SCFSC for many years and was a founding member of the SCFSC Board of Directors. Battalion Chief Mike Stonum is responsible for the San Jose Battalion, which covers the East Foothills CWPP area. Fire Captain Nick Ciardella is now an SCFSC Director and the primary CDF representative to SCFSC.

d. Other City and County Decision Makers and Stakeholders

San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services – Mike McClintock is the Facilities Supervisor for Alum Rock Park, which is the large City park in this area. Mike McClintock or one of the park rangers (Doug Colbeck) participate in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council and have also participated in some of the field surveys for this project near Alum Rock Park. They also led construction of the Crothers Road Fuel Break along the south side of Alum Rock Park and maintain this fuel break annually.

Santa Clara County Roads and Airports Department – Ron Jackson and Ron Neal, the Superintendent of the East Yard, are responsible for this area and participate in maintaining the Crothers Road Fuel Break.

Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (SCCOSA) – Pat Congdon is the General Manager of SCCOSA and is also President of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. SCCOSA is a large landowner in this area (e.g., on the north and east sides of Alum Rock Park).

San Jose Water Company – San Jose Water Company (a private company, not part of the City of San Jose) is the water company for much of the East Foothill CWPP area and is a major property owner in the area. Andy Gere, the Director of Operations and Water Quality, participates in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. As noted above, San Jose Water Company has also made a financial contribution of matching funds for SCFSC CWPP development and related Community Outreach and Education activities.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company – Chris Hughes, a PG&E Forester, is a Vice President of the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. PG&E representative participated in some of the field surveys. As noted above, Pacific Gas and Electric Company has also made a financial contribution of matching funds for the SCFSC CWPP development.

Santa Clara Valley Water District – Santa Clara Valley Water District is a major property owner in the East Foothills CWPP area. Mike Hamer, the Manager of Security and Emergency Services, participates in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. As noted above, Santa Clara Valley Water District has also made a financial contribution of matching funds for the SCFSC CWPP development and related Community Outreach and Education activities.

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Country Club Heights Homeowners Association (the HOA for about 50 townhomes on Crothers Road at Peacock Gap Drive) – These townhomes are within the San Jose City Limits and in a high fire danger area next to Alum Rock Park. The SJFD and CDF are very familiar with this area and the CDF uses the Country Club Heights lake as a source of water for their helicopters when there are fires near Alum Rock Park. A meeting was held at Country Club Heights during the development of this CWPP to discuss the East Foothills CWPP development and the plans for fire prevention in Alum Rock Park and maintaining the Crothers Road Fuel Break.

Individuals – A number of individual property owners in this area have been contacted and have contributed to this CWPP.

2. Santa Clara County FireSafe Council

The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is described in Section I.A and major financial and other contributors to this CWPP are identified above. The decision makers for SCFSC are the Officers and Directors, led by our President, Patrick Congdon.

3. Involved Parties

a. Federal Agencies

Mike Chiodini of the USDI Bureau of Land Management in Hollister, CA, supported the Concept Paper and Application for this grant to develop CWPPs and participates in the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. However, there are only a few small parcels of BLM land in Santa Clara County, none of which are in the East Foothills CWPP area, so the BLM involvement in this CWPP is primarily to support our activities.

b. State/Local Agencies

As noted above, the California Fire Safe Council is the grant administrator for this grant to develop CWPPs. Amber Gardner is the Coast Regional Coordinator for the California Fire Safe Council.

The other state and local agencies involved in this CWPP, such as the CDF, are identified above.

c. Planning Area Having Jurisdiction (PAHJ)

As noted above, most of the East Foothills CWPP area is in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Some parts of the CWPP area are within the San Jose City limits and the San Jose Sphere of Influence extends east of the City limits and covers much of the CWPP area. The San Jose Fire Department provides first responder fire and medical coverage in the unincorporated Santa Clara County areas under contract to Santa Clara County.

The City of San Jose is in the process of annexing some of the small unincorporated “County pockets” in this area, as described below, and plans to annex more of the area later. Therefore, as noted above under Structural Ignitability, both the County and City of San Jose Planning Departments must be consulted to determine jurisdiction and their decisions are coordinated in

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many cases. For example, when a parcel near the City limits is improved, it often becomes part of the City and the City limits are adjusted accordingly.

E. Community Outreach/Public Education

The material the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council provides for community outreach and public education includes: x SCFSC Brochure19 x Living With Fire in Santa Clara County20 x Articles such as Defensible Space? Here's how to prepare for the upcoming fire season! by Fire Captain José Guerrero, San Jose Fire Department21 x Other newsletter articles to promote SCFSC and our programs22 x Other materials for community events, including material for children and seniors

As part of our community outreach programs, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council supports Wildfire Awareness Week, which is sponsored at a state level by the CDF and the California Fire Safe Council, each spring at the start of fire season.

We have recently updated our SCFSC Brochure and Living With Fire in Santa Clara County to include the major items noted during our field surveys and other items related to CWPP development including: x Strengthening the 100 feet Defensible Space recommendation23 x Emphasizing other key recommendations including: - Contact your local fire agency for specifics for your area or property - Replace wood shake roofs, which are a significant fire hazard - Make house numbers easily visible from the street x New SCFSC Mission statement.

We also prepared an introduction to CWPPs,24 which outlines what a CWPP is and our plans to develop CWPPs for East Foothills and the Croy Fire Area, for use during the CWPP development process. Additional materials will be developed to summarize the East Foothills and the Croy Fire Area CWPPs.

19 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Documents/SCFSCBrochure.PDF 20 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/FireSafe/LivingWithFire.htm 21 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Newsletter/Edition7.htm#Ed7-2 22 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Newsletter/Current.htm 23 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Documents/Why_100_Feet.pdf 24 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Documents/CWPP_Handout.pdf

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Most of the fire agencies and volunteer fire departments in Santa Clara County, including CDF and San Jose Fire Department, distribute SCFSC materials including Living With Fire in Santa Clara County. Other fire departments have their own, very similar material.

Several articles were published in New Neighborhood Voice, an East Foothills online newsletter, in 2006 to describe the CWPP development process and invite community participation. Two additional articles have now been published to begin communicating the East Foothills CWPP results to the community.25

SCFSC will continue to publicize and communicate the CWPP development results. Community participation is essential for this CWPP and future fuel reduction projects. Please e-mail requests for participation in community meetings to Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted by Santa Clara County (see Section I.B.4) includes the following Wildfire Mitigation Strategies related to Fire Safe Councils and Community Outreach and Education: x Encourage the formation of a community- and neighborhood-based approach to wildfire education and action through local Fire Safe Councils and the Fire Wise Program. (Public Education Item 15, Page 18) x Participate in multi-agency efforts to mitigate fire threat, such as the Hills Emergency Forum (in the east Bay), various FireSafe Council programs, and city-utility task forces. (Government Participation Item 6, Page 26)

See Attachment B-1 for these items (the same or similar items are in other sections of Attachment B-1) and Attachments B-2 and B-3 for the Santa Clara County plan for these items.

25 See http://www.nnvesj.org/Y06/Ed40/Edition40S2.htm#Ed40B8 for Part 1 and http://www.nnvesj.org/Y06/Ed41/Edition41S2.htm#Ed41S13 for Part 2. The Q&A format for these articles was chosen so more people to read wildfire related articles.

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II. East Foothills Wildfire Planning Area

A. East Foothills Area

East Foothills is both a Census Designated Place and a commonly used name for the foothills east of the City of San Jose, California. East Foothills and San Jose are Communities at Risk from wildfires on the California Fire Alliance list of Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County.26 San Jose is, of course, a large city and only parts of the city, primarily on the east and south, are at risk from wildfires. Most of the area covered by the East Foothills CWPP is in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Only a few specific areas (e.g., Alum Rock Park) are within the San Jose City Limits.

As noted above, most of the area covered by the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is within the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD)27 coverage area. The CDF28 provides support in SJFD’s jurisdiction in Wildland Urban Interface areas. In unincorporated Santa Clara County areas, SJFD provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County.

The following sections include various maps to illustrate the East Foothill CWPP area, the Land Use planned for this area, the State Resource Areas and Fire Districts, the Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area, and the topography and vegetation. Alum Rock Park can be used as a landmark to locate the East Foothills area on these maps.

B. Community Base Map

Figure II-1 below is the East Foothills Community Base Map used for this CWPP. This map shows the general area for this CWPP and the location of Alum Rock Park and other landmarks.

Figure II-2 below is a section of the Santa Clara County Land Use Map which includes the East Foothills area.29 Alum Rock Park can be used to locate the East Foothills area on this map. This map illustrates both the surrounding area for the Community Base Map above and the land use planned for this CWPP area. Note that most of the East Foothills CWPP area is designated Hillsides, Rural Residential, Open Space Reserve or Regional Parks (which are described in more detail below).

26 See http://www.cafirealliance.org/communities_at_risk/communities_at_risk_list. Filter the results by County Name and Search for Santa Clara to see the Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County. 27 See http://www.sjfd.org 28 See http://www.fire.ca.gov 29 See http://www.sccplanning.org/portal/site/planning/ for the current complete Santa Clara County General Plan Land Use Map. Click on Plans & Programs and then on General Plan. Scroll down on this General Plan page to find the link to the General Plan Land Use map. The August 2005 version used for this figure is at http://www.sccfiresafe.org/EFCWPP/SCC_Land_Use_Plan_0805.pdf (large PDF file).

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Figure II-1: East Foothills Community Base Map

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Figure II-2: Santa Clara County Land Use Map

The East Foothills Census Designated Place (CDP) boundaries are shown in Figure II-3 below. The Census Designated Place boundaries on the east side of San Jose are irregular simply because the East Foothills CDP, by definition, cannot include any part of the City of San Jose. These boundaries will change as additional unincorporated areas are annexed into the city. These CDP boundaries are important only for the East Foothills CDP demographic information below. The actual boundaries used for the CWPP were based on the wildfire risk in populated areas (e.g., the San Jose Fire Department Wildland Urban Interface Zones discussed below).

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Figure II-3: East Foothills Census Designated Place Map

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C. Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Areas

A complete list of SJFD Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Zones follows.30 Zone 1: North – Sierra Road / South – Alum Rock Avenue to Mt. Hamilton Road / West – N. White Road / East – Alum Rock Park Boundary. Zone 2: North – Alum Rock Avenue to Mt. Hamilton Road / South – Marten Avenue to Clayton Road / West – S. White Road / East – Mt. Hamilton, including Three Springs. Zone 3: North – Marten Avenue to Clayton Road / South – Quimby Road / West – South White Road / East – Ridge Top of Foothills Zone 4: North – Quimby Road / South – San Felipe Road / West – West Boundary / East – South White Road to San Felipe Road Zone 5: North – Yerba Buena Road / South – Metcalf Road / East – San Felipe Road / West – Highway 101 Zone 6: North – Bernal Road to Santa Teresa Boulevard / South – Bailey Avenue / West – McKean Road / East – Highway 101 Zone 7: North – Blossom Hill Road / South – Almaden Road / West – Camden Avenue to / East Almaden Road Zone 8: North – McKean Road / South – County Line / West – Almaden to Alamitos Road / East – Uvas Road Zone 9: North – Bailey Avenue / South – County Line / West – Road / East – Highway 101 Zone 10: North – Metcalf Road / South – County Line / West – Highway 101 / East – East Boundary of Anderson Lake

Only Zones 1-4 are relevant for this CWPP. A small portion of Zones 1 and 2 is shown in Figure II-3 above. The east side of these zones overlaps with the SRA (State Resource Area) map for this area as shown in Figure II-4 below. 31

30 From an e-mail from SJFD Wildland Officer Captain Juan Diaz, September 28, 2005 31 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/EFCWPP/SCC_SRA_1997.pdf (PDF file) for the complete SRA map.

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Figure II-4: Santa Clara County State Resource Areas

The SRA map above can be used with the Santa Clara County Fire Districts map in Figure II-5 below.32 However, as noted above, in unincorporated Santa Clara County areas of the East Foothills CWPP area, San Jose Fire Department provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County even though this area is designated as Santa Clara County

32 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/EFCWPP/SCC_Fire_Districts.pdf (PDF file) for the complete Santa Clara County Fire Districts map.

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Central Fire District on this map. This map can also be used to visualize the irregular San Jose City limits in this area (generally, San Jose is west of the Central Fire District and the State Resource Area is east). This border changes as additional areas are annexed into San Jose.

Figure II-5: Santa Clara County Fire Districts

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D. Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area

As noted above under Structural Ignitability, there is a Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area (LFHA) in the East Foothills.33 This LFHA is generally on the north and east sides of the East Foothills CWPP area as shown in Figure II-6 below (i.e., most of the East Foothills CWPP area is west of the LFHA). However, the presence of this very large LFHA on two sides of the East Foothills CWPP area emphasizes the potential fire danger in this area.

E. Large Open Space Areas

There are three large open space areas in the East Foothills CWPP area. Alum Rock Park is a City of San Jose Regional Park. Joseph D. Grant County Park is a Santa Clara County Park. There are also a number of Santa Clara County Open Space Authority properties in this area.

1. Alum Rock Park

Alum Rock Park is a large City Park, designated a “Regional Park,” owned by the City of San Jose and the park and its vegetation are described on the park Web site:34

“Nestled within the Alum Rock Canyon in the foothills of the Diablo Range, the Park's 720 acres of natural, rugged beauty, provide visitors with many leisure outdoor activities including hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, family and group picnicking, and of course just relaxing. Picnic tables, barbecue pits, water and restrooms are available in most picnic areas, with lawns and a children's playground in the mid-canyon area.

The unique east-west canyon and its steep sides contain many delicate plant and animal communities. Soils on the north canyon slopes are held in place by a variety of grasses, poison oak, holly leaf-cherry, sage brush, and scattered live oak trees. Black-tailed deer, brush rabbits and quail can be seen by quiet, observant hikers. Red tailed hawks and turkey vultures can frequently be seen riding the air currents over-head.

The opposite or south side of the canyon offers a totally different natural community. Trees such as the California black oak, bay, madrone, and California buckeye are abundant, while smaller shrubs like the toyon, wild rose, and wild blackberries are found in more sunny areas. The chattering of gray squirrels and Steller's jays are common sounds. On rare occasions, a hiker might see - only for an instant - the elusive bobcat as he disappears into the dense brush.

Penitencia Creek is lined with big-leaf maple, white alder, and western sycamore. Wild honeysuckle vines, the arroyo and red willow add to its lush plant life.”

33 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/EF_CWPP_sje_lhfa.pdf (PDF File) for the complete Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area Map for this area, provided by Santa Clara County Assistant Fire Marshal Judy Saunders, which can be expanded to show individual streets and roads. An updated version of this map is expected to be available in late 2007 or early 2008. 34 See http://www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/regionalparks/arp/arp%20index.dwt. Additional park information and a map are available on the Web site.

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Figure II-6: East Foothills Locally-Declared Hazardous Fire Area

As noted above, the park area is a series of hills to the north and south rising up from the valley floor of the park on either side of Penitencia Creek. The northern side of the park is primarily south-facing slopes, where sun exposure minimizes the type and amount of vegetation growth. Typical vegetation is primarily grass with some trees and underbrush. These south-facing slopes are more fire prone than the somewhat shaded south side due to the typically drier fuels.

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The south side of Alum Rock Park is primarily north-facing slopes and is also fire prone because the trees and underbrush are much denser and continuous on these slopes than on the south-facing slopes on the opposite side of the canyon. The south side is important because fire equipment access to this area is limited and there are many homes in the East Highlands and other areas adjacent to the south side of the park. The west side of the canyon is open to westerly and northwesterly San Francisco Bay winds which can enter the park and could drive a fire up the south slopes of the park.

Wildfire danger is monitored in the park and a San Jose Fire Department station is located near the entrance to the park. Signs indicating the fire danger level are posted along the entrance routes. The park is closed at night (and occasionally during the day when the fire danger is very high). The CDF supports SJFD when fires occur in this SJFD Wildland Urban Interface Zone and several water sources are available in this area for firefighting aircraft. However, numerous potential fire ignition sources exist including cooking fires and smoking, both of which are permitted in the park except during the highest fire danger periods. Even though the park is closed at night, there are many ways people can enter the park when it is closed. Also, there are overhead electric lines throughout this area, which can cause fires if they contact trees or other vegetation during windy periods.

2. Joseph D. Grant County Park

Joseph D. Grant County Park is located at 18405 Mt. Hamilton Road (the park entrance is about eight miles from Alum Rock Avenue). The park and its vegetation are described on the park Web site:35

Joseph D. Grant County Park is “the largest of Santa Clara County's regional park and recreation areas. This 9,553 acre park includes some of the County’s finest open space resources, as well as rich environmental, cultural and recreational assets. The landscape is characteristic of the east foothills of the Santa Clara Valley with grasslands and majestic oak trees. As part of the park’s tradition and history, cattle grazing currently takes place in some areas, and is monitored under a resource management plan.

Grant Park is located at the base of Mt. Hamilton. The major feature of the park, Halls Valley is suspended between two ridges in the Diablo Range of the Coastal Mountains. The park's terrain was formed by earth movement along the still active Calaveras Fault.

The oak-woodland community at Grant Park is typical of California. Oak trees provide breeding habitat and food for over 32 species of birds and 39 species of mammals. This habitat is so unique and important to wildlife that its protection is essential. The oak community includes such species as the Blue, Black, Live, and Valley Oaks.

Group picnic and youth camping areas are available by reservation. One large lake and several smaller ponds are accessible for warm water fishing. Wood fires will be banned during fire season and during high fire conditions.”

35 See www.parkhere.org and click on “Find a Park” at the left and then on “Joseph D. Grant.” For more information, click on “Joseph D. Grant County Park” at the top right of this last page.

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Mt. Hamilton Road (State Highway 130) transverses Grant Park. The intersection of Mt. Hamilton Road and Quimby Road (east from San Jose) is within the Park.

3. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Properties

The Santa Clara County Open Space Authority owns much of the property on the north side of Alum Rock Park, where its Boccardo Trail36 is open to the public. There are few homes on the northeast side of the park. The Authority also owns several properties on the south and east sides of the park as shown in Figure II-7 below.

The Authority's Five Year Plan states that it should complete at least one acquisition representing each of the following open space goals: x Hillside preservation that is visible from the valley floor. x Valley floor preservation that includes wetlands, baylands, riparian corridors or other unique habitats. x Agricultural preservation. x Segment of regionally significant trail. x Segment of a greenbelt between cities. x Urban open space.

The Authority is now in its sixth year of acquiring open space and has preserved over 9,000 acres throughout its boundaries.

The Authority uses a variety of methods to manage its properties. Multiple objectives are developed to maintain diverse habitats. One of these objectives is fuel reduction. Grassland areas are grazed so that the habitat and associated species are not fragmented. Grazing reduces the available fuel loading which leads to lower intensity fires.

The Authority modifies shrub and grass lands within high use areas and along public roadways to reduce hazardous fuels. This is accomplished using contracted mechanical equipment, Authority staff and hand crews. The goal is to create roadways and boundary areas that can be used to control wildfires and permit evacuation of visitors and residents. Where appropriate, the Authority will also evaluate the use of controlled burns to modify vegetation for the benefit of natural resources and to lessen the impact of wildfire.

The Authority supports organizations like the Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council and works closely with fire agencies to create Defensible Space near developed areas.

36 See http://openspaceauthority.org/Properties/boccardo.html for more information and a map of this area.

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Figure II-7: Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Properties

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F. Demographic Data

The East Foothills Census Designated Place area is about 2.3 square miles (approx. 1,475 acres), has a population of about 8,600 people and includes about 2,900 homes. Seven historic structures are located in or near this area. Most of the homes within the CDP are single family dwellings.

The actual boundaries used for this plan were based on the wildfire risk and on the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD) Wildland Urban Interface Zones. Including these high fire danger areas adjacent to the CDP more than doubled the size of the study area and added many more single family homes and townhomes and other multiple family dwellings.

Selected demographic data from the 2000 census are shown in Table II-1 for the zip codes, from north to south, covering the East Foothills CWPP area and surrounding areas.

Table II-1: Selected East Foothills CWPP Area Demographic Data

General Area: Milpitas Berryessa East Foothills Evergreen Santa Clara Zip Code: 95035 95132 95127 95135/38/48 County US OVERVIEW: KEY DEMOGRAPHIC DATA #%#%#%#%# %% Total population 62,840 40,563 60,609 74,671 1,682,585 Median age (years) 33.4 (X) 34.8 (X) 30.7 (X) 34.7 (X) 34 (X)35.3 65 years and over 4,418 7.0 3,147 7.8 5,155 8.5 6,984 9.4 160,527 9.5 12.4

One race 59,737 95.1 38,704 95.4 57,018 94.1 71,236 95.4 1,604,148 95.3 97.6 White 19,480 31.0 13,772 34.0 25,912 42.8 28,436 38.1 905,660 53.8 75.1 Asian 32,487 51.7 20,566 50.7 10,720 17.7 32,559 43.6 430,095 25.6 3.6

Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 10,432 16.66,00114.832,47653.614,04618.8403,40124.012.5

Household population 59,666 94.9 40,527 99.9 59,933 98.9 74,621 99.9 1,652,871 98.2 97.2 Average household size 3.47 (X) 3.49 (X) 3.87 (X) 3.46 (X) 2.92 (X) 2.6 Average family size 3.72 (X) 3.71 (X) 4.05 (X) 3.70 (X) 3.41 (X) 3.1 Owner-occupied housing units 11,990 69.8 8,677 74.7 11,056 71.5 18,890 87.6 338,661 59.8 66.2 Renter-occupied housing units 5,186 30.2 2,937 25.3 4,417 28.5 2,685 12.4 227,202 40.2 33.8

Social Characteristics Population 25 years and over 41,180 26,986 36,242 48,824 1,113,058 High school graduate or higher 34,268 83.2 22,720 84.2 24,672 68.1 41,501 85.0 928,258 83.4 80.4 Bachelor's degree or higher 15,026 36.5 9,041 33.5 6,677 18.4 18,995 38.9 450,539 40.5 24.4 Disability status (pop. 5 years and over) 9,401 17.0 6,534 17.3 10,453 18.8 12,430 16.6 254,729 16.4 19.3

Economic Characteristics In labor force (pop. 16 years and over) 31,573 64.6 21,904 69.7 28,168 63.0 37,802 50.6 878,932 67.2 63.9 Median household income in 1999 ($) 84,565 (X) 82,779 (X) 63,096 (X) 94,328 (X) 74,335 (X) Per capita income in 1999 ($) 28,023 (X) 27,795 (X) 21,254 (X) 33,813 (X) 32,795 (X) Families below poverty level 470 3.3 325 3.3 907 7.1 504 2.8 19,624 4.9 9.2 Individuals below poverty level 2,993 5.0 2,095 5.2 6,211 10.4 2,993 4.0 124,470 7.5 12.4

Housing Characteristics Single-family owner-occupied homes 10,663 8,150 10,160 16,436 291,771 Median value (dollars) 373,000 (X) 369,000 (X) 322,600 (X) 492,200 (X) 446,400 (X) prepared by COREY, CANAPARY & GALANIS RESEARCH

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Since these zip codes cover relatively large areas, the total area covered by Table II-1 is much larger than the CWPP area. However, this data is useful because it illustrates the population and homes that could be threatened by a large wildfire in this area as well as the area’s diversity with its large Asian and Hispanic populations.

A recent Wildfire Awareness Telephone Survey of residents of the 95127 Zip Code conducted for the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council included the following results for this Zip Code:37 x Over two-thirds (70%) of the residents are aware that regions near their area are high risk wildfire areas. x Well over half (60%) of the residents are Very Concerned or Somewhat Concerned about wildfires in their area – only 14% are Not At All Concerned. However, on the small sample of 16 residents where Spanish Is The Language Spoken At Home, 69% of the residents are Very Concerned or Somewhat Concerned about wildfires in their area. x The most important reasons the residents are concerned about wildfires are Live In/Close to Hills (68%), Fire Spreads Quickly/Gets Out of Control (27%), Previous Fires/Fires in Area (23%), Dry Conditions (18%) and Danger to Community (14%). x Over two-thirds (73%) have visited campgrounds or parks which are in high risk fire areas. Among subgroups, those with lesser education and households where Spanish is spoken are more likely to indicate that they are very concerned about wildfires in these parks and campgrounds. x About seven in ten (70%) of respondents have cleared dead leaves or other vegetation around their house to create a “Defensible Space”. This percentage is quite high, and it is possible that some respondents may simply have cleared leaves and vegetation without expressly doing this to create a Defensible Space around their home. x Well over half (60%) have made choices about their landscaping to reduce the fire risk around their home. x About 16% have received information about ways to reduce their household’s risk of wildfire but only 6% have attended a community meeting where wildfire literature or materials were distributed.

G. Site Characteristics

1. Surrounding Area

Santa Clara County is 1,315 square miles and is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay. As of April 1, 2000, the County's population was approximately 1.7 million, making it the largest of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Santa Clara County is the fifth largest county in California, with 24% of the Bay Area's total population living within the County's jurisdiction.38

37 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/Canapary_Survey_Report.pdf 38 This section and parts of the following sections are taken or rewritten from the Santa Clara County Planning Office information on the County Web site at http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/planning/. Click on Facts and Figures at the left and then on County Profile.

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The County, with its diverse population (47% are non-white), high standard of living, and strong economic vitality has attracted people from all over the world. Its location provides residents with a suburban lifestyle, while providing close access to nature and the outdoors.

However, over the last few decades, Santa Clara County has been experiencing many changes to the number of people living in the County, the diversity of the population, and household characteristics. As the Valley continues to evolve and grow, it will have to find new and innovative ways to provide adequate housing, generate energy, conserve water, and provide adequate infrastructure. In addition, the County will need to continue to provide social support services for all of its residents young and old, native and foreign.

a. Natural Environment

The major topographical features of the County are the Santa Clara Valley, the Diablo Range to the east, the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west, and the Baylands in the northwest.

The fertile Santa Clara Valley is ringed by rolling hills. The Diablo Range covers the entire eastern half of the county. It consists mainly of grasslands, chaparral and oak savannah. The Santa Cruz Mountains contain rolling grasslands and oak-studded foothills, along with mixed hardwoods and dense evergreen forests. Higher elevations of the Santa Cruz Mountains are home to redwood forests, steep slopes, and active earthquake faults. Areas of geologic instability are prevalent in both mountain ranges.

The East Foothills CWPP area is in the north part of Santa Clara Valley east of San Jose in the foothills rising to the Diablo Range.

b. Built Environment

The North Valley is extensively urbanized, housing approximately 90 percent of the County's residents. Thirteen of the county's fifteen cities are located in the North Valley, while the remaining two cities, Gilroy and Morgan Hill, are located in the South Valley. The South Valley differs in that it remains predominantly rural, with the exception of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and the small unincorporated community of San Martin. Low density residential developments are also scattered through the valley and foothill areas.

c. Population Growth

Between 1980 and 1990, Santa Clara County grew by 202,506 people. This growth represents a 16% increase in population. Similarly, between 1990 and 2000, the County grew by an additional 185,008, which accounts for a 12% change in population. It is predicted that the County's population will continue to grow, but at a slower rate. Moderate rates of growth in employment and housing development may account for this slowdown in population growth. According to the Association of Bay Area Governments, by 2010, Santa Clara County's population is projected to increase by 197,115 people to 1,879,700. From 2010 to 2020, Santa Clara County's population is predicted to increase an additional 127,800 people to 2,007,500.

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Between 1990 and 2000, most of the population growth in Santa Clara County occurred in San Jose and in the North Valley cities (Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, and Sunnyvale). Although North Valley cities experienced a larger increase in population numbers, the South Valley cities (Morgan Hill and Gilroy) experienced a larger percentage increase in population.

2. Fire Environment

The vegetation in the East Foothills area is summarized above and described in more detail below. The population and economic growth have led to more homes and developments being built in Wildland Urban Interface and Intermix areas. Because there have not been any large recent wildfires, public awareness of the wildfire danger is generally low even though fire agencies and other organizations like SCFSC continue to emphasize the danger and the importance of creating and maintaining Defensible Space. Hazardous fuel has continued to accumulate in many areas because natural fires are extinguished quickly and controlled burns are very limited by population and air quality concerns.

Santa Clara County has a growing number of homes and communities located in high wildfire danger areas. Many of these beautiful and desirable areas possess all of the ingredients needed to support large, intense and uncontrollable wildfires. Some areas in the County are similar to the Oakland Hills area in Alameda County where a wildland fire in 1991 caused major losses of life and structures. Terrain, vegetation and accessibility conditions in Santa Clara County create the potential for similar events to occur here.

While the East Foothills area is not the highest fire danger area of the County, and most of its fires are controlled and extinguished quickly, the potential exists for any wildfire to grow out of control, especially during high temperature, dry and windy conditions.

3. Climate

The regional climate is Mediterranean and remains temperate year round due to the area's geography and proximity to the Pacific Ocean. During fall and winter months, the temperature generally ranges from 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit with only occasional freezes at lower altitudes. The summer months see dry, warm and hot weather that generally ranges from 65-82 degrees Fahrenheit with periods in the 90s and occasionally reaching 100 degrees.

The County's average rainfall is 15 inches in San Jose to 40 inches in the Santa Cruz Mountain. In San Jose, temperatures vary from an average of 50 degrees in January to an average of 70 degrees in July. San Jose boasts an average of more than 300 sunny days per year, and has a mean annual rainfall of 14.4 inches.39 The East Foothills climate and rainfall is similar to San Jose but the winds and temperature can be higher at higher altitudes and further inland.

Recently (2005-2006), spring rainfall has been higher than average leading to early hazardous fuel growth, especially grasses and other highly combustible fuels. The inevitable high temperatures

39 See http://www.sanjoseca.gov/about.html

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later in the fire season result in dry, fire prone conditions with abundant ignitable vegetation to fuel a major wildfire.

Being close to a major city like San Jose, which is the tenth largest city in the U.S., presents it own challenges related to wildfire prevention. For example, East Foothills roads and nearby parks overlooking the city attract visitors who are not aware of wildfire dangers. Illegal fireworks are used and abandoned cars are burned in high fire danger areas (e.g., along Mt. Hamilton Road). The fire agencies and SCFSC are concerned that these dangerous activities are increasing and that the general public is not concerned about, or receptive to, wildfire prevention messages.

4. Topography

In general, the East Foothills rise relatively gently from the San Jose City limits to the top of Mt. Hamilton at 4,200 feet in the Diablo Range about 20 miles east of San Jose. However, the terrain is varied and torturous in some areas near many homes. For example, as shown in Figure II-8 below, the terrain rises very rapidly and irregularly from 100 feet or so at Penitencia Creek in Alum Rock Park to 1,000 feet in about one-half mile with homes just north and west of this area.

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Figure II-8: Alum Rock Park Area Topography

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5. Vegetation

The Alum Rock Park and Joseph D. Grant County Park vegetation described above is unique. More generally, the East Foothills can be described as Oak Woodland, particularly to the east along Mt. Hamilton Road and Grant Park. There are many west and south facing slopes with grassy areas, particularly in the center and on the west side of the East Foothills area. These “flashy fuel” covered slopes are often where fires start and can quickly spread to threaten homes and other areas where there are heavier fuels and the potential for higher intensity wildfires.

Dudek, our consultants for this project, identified recent (2005), high resolution (1 meter) aerial photos which depict the vegetation in Santa Clara County. These photos are the INTERIM 2005 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) County Compressed Mosaics.40 Figure II-9 below is an example of a piece of the northern East Foothills area with a few landmarks labeled.

Six field survey trips were made and eight reports and 20 field survey forms were compiled for the East Foothills CWPP area. The field survey form in Table II-2 below summarizes the entire CWPP area in one form. This form does not represent any particular East Foothills survey area and the individual survey forms should be consulted for each area surveyed.

40 See http://new.casil.ucdavis.edu/casil/remote_sensing/naip_2005/ for a description of the photos and the Directory by County. See http://new.casil.ucdavis.edu/casil/remote_sensing/naip_2005/Santa_Clara/ for the Santa Clara County files, which are over 1.5 GB. An MrSID viewer such as the free LizardTech ExpressView Browser Plug-in (www.lizardtech.com) is needed to view these files. “This is the first time that California has acquired one-meter natural DOQQs statewide in a single ‘season’/year.” Zoom in or out on the photos to view larger or smaller pieces of the County.

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Figure II-9: Example East Foothills Area 2005 Vegetation (USDA FSA Aerial Photography Field Office: County image mosaic for Santa Clara County, CA, 2005)

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Table II-2: East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan Area Summary Inspected Late 2005 and 2006 by Allan Thompson with SJFD Battalion Chief José Luna, Wildland Officer José Guerrero and others for specific areas. 7/13/06, SJFD Wildland Officer Captain José Guerrero and Mike Huff and Scott Eckardt of Dudek (portions of the area). Description East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan area Location East Foothills CDP and other areas east of San Jose Maps/Photos See Figure II-1 through Figure II-8 above Access/ Highways 680 and 101 are just west of this area. Various roads (e.g., Penitencia Ingress/ Creek Road to Alum Rock Park, Alum Rock Avenue, Mt. Hamilton Road to Lick Egress Observatory, Clayton Road, Quimby Road) run generally east and west into the East Foothills. Evacuation Access roads identified above and others for specific areas Route Slope Generally 5° - 30° up toward the east with many hills and valleys Aspect Many west, southwest and south facing slopes Vegetation Tall, overhanging oak trees, smaller trees and underbrush. Grassy west and southwest facing slopes. Many homes with nearby vegetation including some eucalyptus, firs and other fire prone vegetation. Fuel Model X 1 - grass - 1 foot, X 3 - grass - 3 foot, X 4 - chaparral, dense shrub cover X 8 - eucalyptus stand, duff understory, X 9 - riparian woodland, __ other (describe) Fuel X exotic/invasives removal, X vertical separation, X shrub thinning Treatment X dead/dying plant removal, X debris removal, X mow/trim grasses/weeds/exotics X horizontal separation, X tree stand thinning, X dead foliage removal X structural clearance, X other (describe) Maintain Defensible Space and fuel breaks Purpose 1. Prevent fires originating in East Foothills from damaging homes and properties 2. Provide access for fire equipment and personnel to fight fires in this area Major x San Jose Fire Department (Supported by CDF) Stake- x City of San Jose (Alum Rock Park and other areas within the City limits) holders x Santa Clara County (Unincorporated areas) x Pacific Gas and Electric Company (electric lines in this area) x San Jose Water Company and other utilities in this area x East Foothills property owners and residents Plan Educate and enable property owners to create and maintain Defensible Space. Identify, describe and organize fuel reduction projects in high priority areas and pursue federal and local funding if needed. Priority* See individual field survey forms for priorities. * Priority for additional fuel reduction or other treatment as part of this plan

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6. Vegetation Dynamics

Vegetation plays a significant role in fire behavior, and is an important component of the fire behavior models discussed in this report. A critical factor to consider is the dynamic nature of vegetation communities. Fire presence and absence at varying cycles or regimes affects plant community succession, or the natural sequential replacement of vegetation types over time. Succession of plant communities, most notably the gradual conversion of shrub lands to grasslands in areas with high fire frequencies and short intervals between fires, and grasslands to shrub lands in areas with fire exclusion or long fire-free periods, is highly dependent on fire characteristics, including intensity, duration, and return interval. Additionally, encroachment of non-native plant species from residential landscaping into wildland areas is already occurring and is expected to continue based on the proximity of ornamental landscaping to the open space. Consequently, routine maintenance of fuel reduction areas/Defensible Space zones, and establishment of Defensible Space zones in some areas, are needed to maintain reduced hazard conditions

Biomass and associated fuel loading will increase over time, assuming that disturbance or fuel reduction efforts are not realized. Depending on factors such as fire exclusion activities, mechanical treatments, and prescribed burning, among others, the current vegetation composition and density will continue to change, either through increased volume and the establishment of exotic species or the continued degradation of scrub lands and persistence of annual grasses. Wildfire disturbances can also have dramatic impacts on individual plants and plant composition. Heat shock, accumulation of post-fire charite, and change in photoperiods due to removal of shrub canopies may all stimulate seed germination.41,42 The post fire response for most species is vegetative reproduction and stimulation of flowering and fruiting.43 The combustion of aboveground biomass alters seedbeds and temporarily eliminates competition for moisture, nutrients, heat and light.44 Species that can rapidly take advantage of the available resources will flourish. It is possible to alter successional pathways for varying plant communities by varying the frequency and intensity of fire.

Large portions of the East Foothills planning area are dominated by non-native grasslands. It should be noted that grass cover can burn yearly.45 Lack of disturbance such as fire and grazing, will, over time, allow shrub cover to establish in the area. Shrub cover, although less likely to burn

41 Keeley, J.E., Role of fire in the seed germination of woody taxa in California chaparral, Ecology 68:434-443,1987. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/seki/pdfs/seed.pdf 42 Keeley, J.E. and S.C. Keeley, The role of fire in the germination of chaparral herbs and suffrutescents,Madroño 34: 240 249, 1987. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/seki/pdfs/Role%20of%20Fire%20in%20the%20Germination%20of%20Chaparral%20He rbs%20and%20Suffr.pdf 43 Gill, A. Malcolm, Plant traits adaptive to fires in Mediterranean land ecosystems, In: Mooney, Harold A.; Conrad, C. Eugene, technical coordinators. Proceedings of the symposium on the environmental consequences of fire and fuel management in Mediterranean ecosystems; 1977 August 1-5; Palo Alto, CA. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-3. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 17-26. [4798]. 44 Wright, H. E. and M. L. Heinselman, The ecological role of fire in natural conifer forests of western and northern North America; Introduction, Quaternary Research 3:317-328, 1973. 45 Minnich, R.A. Wildland fire and the conservation of coastal sage scrub, On-line at: http://ecoregion.ucr.edu/review/cssfirex.pdf. Accessed April 28, 2005.

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in its first 20 years during typical weather conditions, will burn under extreme fire events.46 Once established, the shrub cover will increase in volume, and, after approximately 20 years, the hazard will increase corresponding with fuel age.47,48 Additionally, as previously mentioned, encroachment of non-native plants into open-space areas is likely based on the proximity of ornamental landscaping to undeveloped open space land which, in many cases, increases the fuel load and likelihood of higher intensity fire.

7. Fire History

The Santa Clara County Fire History Map compiled by Dudek is shown in Figure II-10 below.49 Data for the map are derived from the CDF Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) database.50 The Fire Perimeters data consist of CDF fires 300 acres and greater in size and USFS fires 10 acres and greater throughout California from 1950 to 2003. Some fires before 1950, and some CDF fires smaller than 300 acres, are also included. Data for BLM fires are complete since 2002 for fires greater than 10 acres in size.

This map shows only one fire near the East Foothills CWPP area, which occurred at the south end of the area in 1951. However, there are two problems with this high-level view of the fire history in this area: x Some wildfires in this area as large as 1,000 acres apparently are not in the CDF database (see Table II-3 below). x As noted above, most of the wildfires in this area are controlled and extinguished quickly because both CDF and SJFD respond to the fires with overwhelming force. These fires do not reach the size needed to be included in the database. The result is misleading because information on the wildfire starts and potential for starts in this area is not included.

Other wildfires in the East Foothills area have been identified from newspaper searches and other sources as shown in Table II-3 below. Despite the lack of documented fire perimeter data included in the CDF FRAP database for the Alum Rock/East Foothills area of Santa Clara County, there have been a significant number of small wildfires in this area since 1933.

46 Moritz, M.A., Spatiotemporal analysis of controls on shrubland fire regimes: age dependency and fire hazard. Ecology. 84(2):351-361, 2003. http://nature.berkeley.edu/moritzlab/docs/Moritz_2003_Ecology.pdf 47 Keeley, J.E., Fire history of the San Francisco East Bay region and implications for landscape patterns, International Journal of Wildland Fire 14:285-296, 2005. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/seki/pdfs/K2005_East%20Bay%20Fire%20History_IJWF.pdf 48 Moritz, M.A., J.E. Keeley, E.A. Johnson, and A.A. Schaffner, Testing a basic assumption of shrubland fire management: How important is fuel age?, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2:65-70, 2004. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/seki/pdfs/Link4106.pdf 49 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/EFCWPP/SantaClaraCounty_FireHistory2.pdf (PDF File) for the complete map. 50 Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/). Accessed June 18, 2006.

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Figure II-10: Santa Clara County Fire History Map

The fire history data emphasize the potential risk for these urban interface areas (areas where at least one side faces wildlands) and intermix areas (areas encompassed by wildlands), especially when considering the continually increasing possibility for human-caused ignitions. Overall, there were 37 documented fires for which data was available, ranging in size from 4 to 1,000 acres and burning in grass, sage-scrub, and chaparral.

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Table II-3: East Foothills and Surrounding Area Fire History Analysis No. Date Location Acreage Vegetation Comments Red Flag Day, northwest winds and Spring Valley (Felter Road) north of low humidity. Quick response, one 110/25/2006Alum Rock Park and east of San Jose 200 Dry grass home damaged, five structures and Milpitas destroyed Quick response by SJFD and CDF, no 210/21/2006Crothers Road and Merkley Row 22Dry grass damage to homes West of Alum Rock Park and south Low winds, quick response by SJFD 39/24/2006 30 Dry grass of Suncrest Avenue and CDF, no damage to homes Fire started at night; no CDF air support. Extreme winds (in excess of 50 mph) driving fire, similar weather Alum Rock Falls Rd., Penitencia 410/22/2000 25 Grass, woodland conditions to the 1991 Oakland Hills Creek Rd., Dorel Dr., Suncrest Ave. Fire. One home destroyed, several damaged. Caused by PG&E powerline. 510/8/1990Alum Rock Park 40Chaparral 66/22/1986Alum Rock Park 12Chaparral, sage Fire burned toward Alum Rock Park. 79/1/1985Sweigert Rd., Sierra Rd. 93Grass Caused by offroad vehicles. Hot, dry conditions with strong winds 86/12/1985Simoni Drive, Celeo Lane 20Grass drove this fire. Suspicious origin. 99/17/1974Quimby Rd., Tony Peters Ranch 40 Brush, grass 10 8/9/1974 Miguelita Rd & Porter Lane 20 Orchard 11 8/6/1974 Highlands, Crothers & Miguelita 12 Grass 12 6/24/1974 NW corner, North wall of canyon 85 Grass 13 6/19/1973 Eagle Rock - Brush 14 6/29/1970 Calaveras Road 1000 Grass 15 6/29/1970 Felter Road & Calaveras Rd 35 Grass 16 8/5/1969 Alum Rock Park 250 Brush, grass NE end of park, Sierra Rd 17 7/1/1969 2 mi NE, Alum Rock Falls Rd 90 Grass 18 6/17/1969 Alum Rock Park 10 Brush, grass Upper Falls Rd & Bear Trail 19 9/26/1968 Alum Rock Park 25 Timber, brush Entrance to park 20 9/15/1968 Alum Rock Park 300 Brush, grass Cherry Flats Dam 217/5/1968 Snell Rd. 50 Grass 22 7/5/1968 Sierra Rd, Jack Roddy Ranch 10 Grass 23 7/4/1968 Sierra & Piedmont Rd. 12 Grass 24 6/7/1968 Del Puerto Canyon, 35 900 Brush, grass 25 7/28/1967 Chaboya & Quimby Rd. 30 Brush, grass 26 9/16/1966 Sierra & Sweigert Rd. - 27 7/5/1966 Alum Rock Park 4 Brush, grass Upper Canyon Entrance 28 6/16/1966 San Felipe Rd, O'Connell Ranch 16 Grass 4 miles N. Alum Rock, Sierra & 29 6/16/1966 100 Grass Sweigert Rd. 30 7/20/1965 3 mi. Alum Rock Ave. 50 Grass 317/6/1950 Aborn Rd. 15 Grass 32 7/4/1950 Alum Rock Park 300 Grass North Canyon Wall 33 7/4/1950 Alum Rock Park 160 Grass 34 7/31/1946 Alum Rock Park 100 Sierra Road Grade NE 35 5/1/1942 Alum Rock Park 250 36 8/13/1933 Andrew Patton Ranch, Mt. Hamilton 50 37 8/13/1933 1.5 mi. N. Grandview House 50 Brush

The first fire in the table above, which occurred on October 25, 2006, is the most recent large fire in the East Foothills area. Even though this was a Red Flag Day, with northwest winds and low humidity, CDF, SJFD, Milpitas Fire Department and others were able to control the fire with only one home damaged and five structures destroyed. Fortunately, this fire occurred during the day when CDF air support was available.

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The third fire in the table above, which occurred on September 24, 2006, is the most recent fire in the Suncrest area. This fire also occurred during the day and the wind was relatively light so SJFD and the CDF were able to control it without any homes lost. The San Jose Mercury News article on this fire51 included:

A grassland fire in San Jose's eastern foothills Sunday burned 30 acres of dry brush and sent residents scrambling to save important papers and to their decks to hose down crackling pine trees minutes before firefighters arrived.

The four-alarm blaze began shortly after 3 p.m. in an area off Suncrest Avenue, on a steep street where neighbors say they almost feel as if they're not living in the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley -- and routinely see wild turkeys and deer on their front lawns.

Within minutes, firefighters called an additional second alarm to protect the homes nearby, said San Jose Fire Capt. Alberto Olmos, though no damage was caused to any of the structures and no injuries were reported, but smoke could be seen from across the valley.

Residents were asked to “shelter in place” and nearby roads were blocked to traffic. But no one was asked to evacuate, despite the rarity of such a large fire so close to homes, he said.

“This is very significant,” Olmos said. “These size fires don't happen that often.”

The fourth fire in Table II-3 above, which occurred on October 22, 2000, is the most recent large and very dangerous fire in the East Foothills area (because it occurred at night when CDF air support is not available, the winds were very high and the fire unexpectedly burned down the hill from Suncrest Avenue). One home burned in this fire, several more were damaged and others were threatened. The San Jose Mercury News article on this fire52 began:

High winds whipped fires that destroyed a home in San Jose and kept firefighters on the run across Northern California on Sunday, bringing back chilling memories of the firestorm that destroyed 3,000 homes in the Oakland hills nine years ago.

“When we arrived we had the exact same conditions as the Oakland hills fire. We had flames, we had wind and we had plenty of fuels,” said fire Capt. Mark Mooney, describing the fire that blackened 25 acres in the foothills east of San Jose. Hours after it had been quenched, firefighters still kept a wary eye on the scene.

51 Fire flares in east foothills, Residents Get A Scare As 30 Acres Burn, But Firefighters Save Homes, Lisa Fernandez, San Jose Mercury News, October 23, 2000, Page 1A. For more, including photos, also see http://www.nnvesj.org/Current.htm#Ed40S2. 52 Gusts Drive Blazes Around Bay, Danny Vasquez And Putsata Reang, San Jose Mercury News, October 23, 2000, Page 1A. Also see http://www.nnvesj.org/Y03/Ed1/Edition1.htm#CN9 and http://www.nnvesj.org/Y04/Ed17/WAW.htm.

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“This is the point where Oakland thought they had it contained,” Mooney said. “We learned a lot of lessons from that fire. So we're not going to call it under control yet. We'll be on a fire watch all night.”

The fire history of the San Francisco East Bay region was the subject of an International Journal of Wildland Fire article in 2005.53

An even more recent article addressed the concerns that increased wildfire activity may be due to warmer and earlier spring seasons.54 This article indicates “that large wildfire activity increased suddenly and dramatically in the mid-1980s, with higher large-wildfire frequency, longer wildfire durations, and longer wildfire seasons.” However, the conclusions in this article may or may not be significant for the East Foothills area because “The greatest increases occurred in mid- elevation, Northern Rockies forests, where land-use histories have relatively little effect on fire risks, and are strongly associated with increased spring and summer temperatures and an earlier spring snowmelt.”

A recent USDA Science Study55 included Santa Clara County: “Simulations for three multi-county areas in northern California under a climate change scenario found that the number of fast- spreading fires will increase, mostly in grass and brush fuels. There will be little change in forested areas. The biggest increases in fire size and escape frequency will occur in low-population-density zones, where fire suppression is currently less intense. When these results are interpolated to cover all of the State Responsibility Areas in northern California, an additional 114 escapes per year can be anticipated, on top of the 110 expected under the current climate.”

While the biggest increases in fire escapes is anticipated in low-population-density zones, the increases of fast-spreading fires, primarily in grass and brush fuels, has implications for parts of the East Foothills near open areas, particularly where grazing has decreased and light, flashy fuels (grasses) have increased.

Other references support the information and conclusions above.56

53 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/K2005_East_Bay_Fire_History_IJWF.pdf, Fire History of the San Francisco East Bay Region and Implications for Landscape Patterns, Jon E. Keely, International Journal of Wildland Fire, 2005, 14, Pages 285-296. 54 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/EFCWPP/Anthony_Westerling_wildfire_study.pdf, Warming and Earlier Spring Increases Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity, A. L. Westerling et. al., Sciencexpress, 6 July 2006 / Page 1/ 10.1126/science.1128834 55 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Documents/USDA_Science_Study_2005.pdf, Fanning the Flames: Climate Change Stacks Odds Against Fire Suppression, Science Findings, Issue 74, July 1005 56 For example: Keeley, J. E. and C.J. Fotheringham, Impact of past, present, and future fire regimes on North American Mediterranean shrublands, P. 218-262 in Fire and climatic change in temperate ecosystems of the Western Americas, Veblen, T.T., W.L. Baker, G. Montenegro, and T.W. Swetnam (eds.). 2003, New York: Springer. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/seki/pdfs/Impact%20of%20Past,%20Present,%20and%20Future%20Fire%20Regimes%2 0on%20North%20A.pdf; and Minnich, R. A., Landscapes, land-use and fire policy: where do large fires come from?, Pages 133–158 in J. M. Moreno (ed.) Large forest fires, Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1998.

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8. Fire Starts and On-Site Fire Potential

Based on existing vegetation, topography, and typical weather conditions for East Foothills, the area is considered vulnerable to wildfire. The proximity of open space to residential structures and to scenic roadways increases the likelihood of anthropogenic ignition (i.e., caused by human activity) from discarded cigarettes, automobiles, fireworks, and electrical transmission lines, etc. Additionally, the potential for spotting (burning embers entering or blowing into unburned vegetation) is high during dry, north and northeast wind-driven conflagrations.

Alum Rock Park’s north-facing slopes provide a good example of where the existence of small, flashy fuels beneath shrubs and trees, especially in the interface areas, also increases the potential for vertical fire spread. The presence of ladder fuels and other highly combustible vegetation, specifically pepper trees and eucalyptus, pines, palms and other non-native trees near interface and intermix residential structures, increases the potential for canopy fire and structural ignition. The fuel reduction recommendations presented herein are critical fuel modification techniques that are part of an overall vegetation management program designed to reduce the continuity of fuels that promotes fire spread from open space areas into adjacent residential and developed areas.

9. Asset Distribution

Asset distribution pertains to the privately and publicly owned assets (residences, structures, equipment, utilities, etc.) within a fire protection area. Asset distribution in the East Foothills area includes higher density residential areas on the west side of East Foothills and more widely spaced single family residences (and a few multiple family dwellings) in most of the CWPP area and east, north and south of this area.

Other important assets in or near East Foothills include: x Large parks and open space areas including Alum Rock Park, Joseph D. Grant County Park and the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority properties in this area (see Section II.E) as well as smaller parks and open spaces (e.g., Cherry Flat Reservoir which feeds Penitencia Creek through Alum Rock Park). x Many privately-owned ranches and farms which are another form of “open space” in this area. x Important roads and transportation assets like Mt. Hamilton Road (State Highway 130) from Alum Rock Avenue to Lick Observatory at the top of Mt. Hamilton. x Extensive Pacific Gas and Electric Company gas and electric facilities and distribution lines throughout this area. The electric lines are generally overhead, rather than buried, in this area and thus are both a potential source of wildfires, especially during windy conditions, as well as infrastructure which can be damaged by wildfires. x Important San Jose Water Company storage tanks and distribution lines throughout this area. These facilities feed the fire hydrants and maintain the water pressure for the lower, heavily populated area. x Large water treatment facilities and plants such as the Santa Clara Valley Water District facilities and percolation ponds just north of Penitencia Creek Road and west of Alum

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Rock Park. The percolation ponds are also used by CDF helicopters as a source of water to fight fires in this area. x Extensive wired and cellular telephone, and cable television, facilities and lines throughout this area. The telephone and cable lines, like the electric lines are generally overhead and are subject to damage by wildfires. These facilities include telephone, DSL and cable facilities and lines which are used by many home-based and other small businesses in this area as well as for residential services. x Important firefighting infrastructure including access and egress routes, fire hydrants, water storage tanks and lakes, ponds and swimming pools that can be used as sources of water to fight wildfire. See Section II.I for more on the firefighting infrastructure. x Other important public welfare and emergency facilities such as radio repeaters in this area. San Jose is the 10th largest city in the U.S. and the third largest city in California and has extensive facilities. There are large, densely populated areas just west of East Foothills.

H. Fire Department Response

As noted above, most of the area covered by the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD) coverage area. The CDF provides support in SJFD’s jurisdiction in Wildland Urban Interface areas. In unincorporated Santa Clara County areas, SJFD provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County.

The Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department supports San Jose Fire Department and the CDF by working as first responder to some areas on the northern edge of the East Foothills CWPP area. Some areas on the eastern edge may be outside the normal SJFD coverage area where the CDF provides fire protection (e.g., from the Smith Creek Station) during summer fire season. However, SJFD is the closest fire agency and provides protection when these CDF stations are closed.

1. San Jose Fire Department

SJFD Battalion 2 includes seven stations on the east side of San Jose which cover the East Foothills area as illustrated in the SJFD Station Location Map.57 A summary of the vehicles and personnel on each shift at these stations is in Table II-4 below compiled by SJFD Wildland Officer Captain José Guerrero.

57 See http://www.sjfd.org/sta_location.htm

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Table II-4: San Jose Fire Department Battalion 2 Battalion 2 Vehicles Personnel/Shift Stations Engine Truck Brush Water USAR Other BC Captain FF/FE Total Patrol Tender Sta. 2 1 1 1 1 BC, LU 1 2 8 11 Alum Rock Ave Sta. 11 1 1 3 4 The Villages Sta. 16 1 1 2 7 9 King Road Sta. 19 1 1 1 3 4 Piedmont Rd Sta. 21 1 1 1 3 4 Mt. Pleasant Sta. 24 1 1 1 3 4 Aborn Rd. Sta. 31 1 Ambulance 1 3 4 Ruby Ave Battalion 2 7 1 4 1 1 3 1 9 30 40 Totals Vehicles Personnel/Shift SJFD Totals 31 8 11 3 3 20* 5 44 144 193 The total City-wide SJFD fire protection capabilities are summarized on the last line of the table above. The 20 other vehicles include Light Units (LU), Rescue Medic, Medic Unit, USAR Tender, Hazardous Incident Team and Battalion Chief (BC) vehicles. The total personnel on duty per shift are 193 (5 Battalion Chiefs, 44 Captains, 68 Engineers (FE) and 76 Firefighters (FF)). The Dispatch Center, Public Information Officer and others are not included in these totals. Replacement vehicles are available for the standard engines and trucks so stations and vehicles can be fully staffed at all times.

It is instructive to understand how SJFD uses these capabilities. The following is from Fire Captain Ralph Ortega’s article on Living in a Wildland Urban Interface Zone, written while he was the SJFD Wildland Officer in 2003/2004.58

Foothills fire goes to a "Tier 3" response

To give you some idea of how this works, I was at Station 31 at Ruby and Aborn in San Jose when the bell struck for a fire in the East Foothills. Upon leaving the station the captain saw smoke in the hills and immediately called for a Tier 1, then 2, then a Tier 3 response, and he did this all before reaching the end of the street. Good call!

By the time we reached the incident, the fire had grown to about three acres. It had started to burn a beautiful three story home under construction and was endangering two other houses. The first two engine companies on the scene were sent directly to the home in the fire's path. The crews executed a (very dangerous) frontal attack saving the home. The remaining companies were sent to contain and control the rest of fire. CDF arrived with engine crews,

58 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/Newsletter/Edition2.htm.

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helicopter crews, air tankers and a bulldozer in time to make a very difficult stop at the head of the fire. The fire front burned into a ravine on a very steep hillside. It was threatening to break through our containment lines to the next hillside where dozens of homes were at risk. We did a good job that day and as firefighters say, "We made a good stop." No one got hurt and we saved some homes.

Some factors that could have made this fire unmanageable are, Time of Day, if the wind had been stronger, or if CDF resources were unavailable. For example, the recent wildfires down south diminished the state's ability to assist elsewhere. Wildland firefighting relies on training, communication, teamwork, good equipment and most of all having a plan that is well practiced.

Here is a breakdown of our "Tier" Reponses;

Tier 1 dispatches 3 engines, 2 brush patrols (BPs), 2 Battalion Chiefs and activates BP groups, other stations move up to cover more area and we advise the CDF that a Tier incident is occurring.

Tier 2 dispatches 3 engines, 4 BPs, 1 water tanker, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 Duty Chief, 1 Safety Officer, 1 Wildland Officer, 1 Medical Officer, the Incident Dispatch Team and advises CDF that SJFD can't send any mutual aid to assist them at this time.

Tier 3 dispatches 2 engines, 3 BPs, 1 water tanker, a request for assistance to CDF, 1 Public Information Officer, 1 Mechanic, station move-ups and notifies Santa Clara County Fire District of possible mutual aid requests.

In total, 53 fire vehicles and 91 personnel were used (for the fire above). Five fire stations had to be moved to cover more area. In all, the fire consumed approximately 30 acres. The Wildland Urban Interface Zones and the Automatic Responses for them are just some of the tools that we have learned to use to protect our residents and their property.

Since each “Tier” (Tactically Integrated Emergency Response) adds to the one before, this means eight fire engines from different stations were on the way to this fire before the first engine reached the corner from Station 31 – plus nine brush patrols, two water tenders and many other vehicles with three Battalion Chiefs, five other officers and the Incident Dispatch Team. You can see how the Mutual Aid works as CDF planes and engines join the group while engines and trucks from other SJFD stations and other fire departments either come to this fire or move to back up stations that have responded to this fire.

It is also instructive to consider the list of equipment59 at the October 2000 fire near the Penitencia Creek entrance to Alum Rock Park,60 which occurred at night when the CDF could not send planes and helicopters to drop water or fire retardant. See Section II.H.2 below for more on CDF equipment.

59 From http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/SJFD_FIR_102200_ARP_Fire.pdf. 60 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/102200_Fire_West_ARP.pdf.

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Other vehicles not listed, including Water Tenders, were also at this fire.

These fires occurred several years ago. However, the description of Tier responses is still accurate.61 Mutual Aid agreements and response is covered below (Section II.H.5).

2. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

The CDF Stations in Santa Clara County and south Alameda County are:

Santa Clara County Alma, 19650 Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos Almaden, 20255 McKean Road, San Jose (just south of SJFD Station 28) Coyote, Canada and Hot Springs Road, Gilroy Morgan Hill, 15670 Monterey Street, Morgan Hill Pacheco, 12280 Pacheco Pass Highway, Hollister Smith Creek, 22805 Mt. Hamilton Road, San Jose (east of San Jose and SJFD Station 2) Stevens Creek, 13326 Stevens Canyon Road, Cupertino Sweetwater, 47405 Mines Road, Livermore

Alameda County Sunol, 11345 Pleasanton Sunol Road, Pleasanton

Generally, these stations have one Type 3 engine, usually with 4-wheel drive, to fight wildland fires. Morgan Hill and Sunol have two engines and other equipment including Transport Dozers (bulldozers on a truck that can be sent to the scene of the fire). Each engine has a crew of three (one captain or engineer and two firefighters).

If the CDF responds to a significant wildland fire in a Mutual Threat Zone in the East Foothills area, the typical response would be (from CDF Division Chief Dave Athey): 1 Tactical Aircraft (from Hollister if available – airtactical planes fly overhead directing the airtankers and helicopters to critical areas of the fire for retardant and water drops)62 2 Air Tankers (one from Hollister if available – airtankers and helicopters are equipped to carry fire retardant or water, the helicopters can also transport firefighters, equipment and injured personnel) 6 Engines (if available, 1 from Smith Creek, 2 from Sunol, and 1 each from Stevens Creek, Almaden and Alma)

61 See http://sjfd.blogspot.com/2006/06/firefighters-battle-light-flashy-fuels.html for the response to the first fires of the 2006 season. 62 See http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_airprgm.php.

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1 Battalion Chief (from Morgan Hill) 1 Safety Officer (from Morgan Hill or other locations) 2 Transport Dozers (if available, 1 from Sunol and 1 from Morgan Hill) 2 Hand Crews (usually from the Ben Lomond Conservation Camp)

These units can come from other locations depending on the equipment availability and the location of the fire (e.g., north or south end of the East Foothills area). The aircraft cannot be used for fires at night. The response for the October 2000 fire near the Penitencia Creek entrance to Alum Rock Park above indicates that there were four CDF engines, two transport dozers and 2 hand crews but not all the vehicles are listed in these fire incident summaries.

Extended Attack Fires63 The department’s goal is to contain 90% of all fires to less than 10 acres. If this goal is not met, the department will augment the response to the incident.

CDF Statewide Resources The department is divided into four regions with 21 administrative units statewide. Within these units, CDF operates 806 fire stations (228 state and 575 local government). CDF, in collaboration with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is authorized to operate 39 conservation camps, and three training centers, located throughout the state. CDF staffs 13 air attack bases and nine helitack bases that allow aircraft to reach most fires within 20 minutes.

CDF operates over 1,095 fire engines (336 state and 759 local government); 215 rescue squads; 63 paramedic units; 12 hazmat units; 38 aerial ladder trucks; 58 bulldozers; five mobile communication centers; and 11 mobile kitchen units. The department funds, via contract, an additional 82 engines, and 12 bulldozers used in six counties – Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. From the air CDF operates 23 1,200-gallon airtankers (one is kept as maintenance relief), 11 Super Huey helicopters (two are kept as maintenance relief), and 13 airtactical planes (one is kept as maintenance relief).

3. Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department

Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department (SVVFD)64 has 35 volunteers and three stations with three engines, two water tenders and two squads. They have mutual aid agreements with San Jose and Milpitas Fire Departments and the CDF and are dispatched by Morgan Hill CDF.

The SVVFD response area is east of north San Jose and Milpitas and runs from Alum Rock Park on the south to the Santa Clara/Alameda County line to the north. SVVFD “protects over 120 residences in an area of approximately 30 square miles. The area is rural with some very large private ranches, and some multi-million dollar single family residences.”

63 The CDF information below is from the Croy Fire Area Fire Agencies and Fire Protection Capabilities prepared by CDF Captain Nick Ciardella, Version 2, 8/31/06 64 See http://www.svvfd.org/. Additional information from an e-mail from Captain Jerry Serpa, Thursday, 8/31/2006

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4. Adjacent Fire Agencies

In addition to the SJFD, CDF and SVVFD capabilities summarized above, adjacent and nearby fire agencies include: x Santa Clara County Fire Department – 16 Fire Stations, 19 pieces of apparatus x Milpitas Fire Department – 4 Fire Stations, 8 pieces of apparatus x Gilroy Fire Department – 3 Fire Stations, 6 pieces of apparatus x Alameda County Fire Department – 18 Fire Stations, 22 pieces of apparatus x Contra Costa County Fire Department – 30 Fire Stations x Central Fire Department of Santa Cruz C ounty – 4 Fire Stations, 12 pieces of apparatus x Scotts Valley Fire Department – 2 Fire Stations, 8 pieces of apparatus

5. Mutual Aid Agreements/Automatic Aid

Cooperative efforts via contracts and agreements between state, federal, and local agencies are essential for responding to emergencies like wildland and structure fires, floods, earthquakes, hazardous material spills, and medical aids. The CDF Cooperative Fire Protection Program staff coordinates these agreements and contracts. Because of these types of cooperative efforts fire engines and crews from many different agencies may respond at the scene of an emergency.

Of course, each big fire provides an opportunity to improve response procedures and capabilities. For the San Jose Fire Department, the most recent major “opportunity” occurred on August 19, 2002. While the Santana Row fire65 was not a wildland fire, it led to significant changes in local response and mutual aid policies and procedures.66 As San Jose City Councilmember Ken Yeager summarized it:67

“The system of mutual aid was strengthened, whereby other Santa Clara County jurisdictions respond by request when any of the cities in the County need help. Further improvements allow for the back-fill coverage of fire stations that have been vacated due to those units responding directly to the fire incident.”

65 From Santana Row: The IDT Response, August 19-22, 2002, http://www.9-1-1magazine.com/FeatureDetail.asp?ArticleID=116. This article includes many response details as complied by the San Jose Fire Department Incident Dispatch Team. 66 See http://www.sccfd.org/MAP_main.html and http://www.co.santa-clara.ca.us/fire/map/MAP_06.pdf for the Santa Clara County Local Fire Service and Rescue Mutual Aid Plan. All of these documents are dated before the Santana Row fire and may not represent the latest plan. 67 From http://www.sanjoseca.gov/district6/WGLessonlearned.htm.

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Additional information on the Santana Row fire is in the FEMA review of this fire68 which includes:

LESSONS LEARNED Following the incident, a five-member team interviewed all of the companies that had been at the fire, including the chief officers from the mutual aid departments that had responded to assist San Jose. A formal post-incident evaluation was also conducted on October 17, 2002 and the department published a formal report on the incident, which was presented to the City Council on December 17, 2002. The report included eight priority findings. Those findings were: x There is a pressing need for County-wide Radio/Data interoperability x The Department needs to acquire additional radio frequencies x A review of the best construction practices should be undertaken x The mutual aid plan needs to be reviewed x The computer aided dispatch system needs to be reviewed and evaluated x Additional staffing and fire stations are needed x Additional handheld radios are needed x Update training for the EOC is needed

The San Jose Mayor’s report on this fire a year later in August 2003 includes:69

Communications/Dispatch x Since last August, additional hand held radios have been purchased so that every San José firefighter now has one and senior staff can listen simultaneously to command and tactical radio channels. x Three San José police dispatch workstations are being modified to handle overflow fire call processing as well as police functions. x Two frequency acquisitions are pending FCC approval, and approval is anticipated within the next 60 days. x A new computer-aided dispatch system has been purchased and is scheduled to go into service in June of 2004. A key feature of the new CAD is an automated vehicle locator that will allow dispatchers to identify the closest units to the fire and improve tracking of response.

68 See http://www.usfa.fema.gov/about/media/2004releases/022404.shtm. The report is at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-153.pdf. 69 From http://www.sanjoseca.gov/cityManager/releases/srfire.htm and http://www.sjmayor.org/press_room/santanarowfireanniversary2003.pdf.

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x A computer software program has been developed for mutual aid call processing that will streamline the process for requesting mutual aid from other agencies. The program currently is being tested, and it will be shared with all county dispatch centers.

Mutual Aid/Interagency Operability x The fire chiefs of Santa Clara County have launched a pilot program that changes the use of mutual aid resources during an emergency. The new plan allows mutual aid to be used to provide backfill fire protection as well as for direct response to an incident. This will allow greater flexibility and speed in responding to major emergencies such as the Santana Row fire. x To address the need for better countywide radio interoperability, a new system has been purchased and activation is scheduled to commence on September 11, 2003. The new system, called BAYMACS (Bay Area Mutual Aide Communication), allows different police, fire, and emergency medical service radio systems to communicate with each other across jurisdictions.

Note in the first bullet point under Mutual Aid/Interagency Operability above, “The new plan allows mutual aid to be used to provide backfill fire protection as well as for direct response to an incident.” This new plan enables SJFD to send more units to major fires, including wildland fires, and to use mutual aid to backfill the vacated stations, rather than waiting for mutual aid units to reach the fire from distant locations. The result is decreased response time for major fires and faster arrival of the “overwhelming force” needed to contain these fires.

I. Firefighting Infrastructure

Information related to Firefighting Infrastructure in the East Foothills CWPP area is summarized in the sections below. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted by Santa Clara County (see Section I.B.4) includes the following Wildfire Mitigation Strategies related to Firefighting Infrastructure: x Ensure a reliable source of water for fire suppression (meeting acceptable standards for minimum volume and duration of flow) for existing and new development. (Wildfire Item 1, Page 7) x Develop a coordinated approach between fire jurisdictions and water supply agencies to identify needed improvements to the water distribution system, initially focusing on areas of highest wildfire hazard. (Wildfire Item 2, Page 7) x Ensure all dead-end segments of public roads in high hazard areas have at least a “T” intersection turn-around sufficient for typical wildland fire equipment. (Wildfire Item 4, Page 7) x Enforce minimum road width of 20 feet with an additional 10-foot clearance on each shoulder on all driveways and road segments greater than 50 feet in length in wildfire hazard areas. (Wildfire Item 5, Page 7) x Require that development in high fire hazard areas provide adequate access roads (with width and vertical clearance that meet the minimum standards of the Fire Code or relevant

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local ordinance), onsite fire protection systems, evacuation signage, and fire breaks. (Wildfire Item 6, Page 8) x Ensure adequate fire equipment road or fire road access to developed and open space areas. (Wildfire Item 7, Page 8) x Maintain fire roads and/or public right-of-way roads and keep them passable at all times. (Wildfire Item 8, Page 8) x Consider fire safety, evacuation, and emergency vehicle access when reviewing proposals to add secondary units or additional residential units in wildland-urban- interface fire- threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 5, Page 14) x Work to ensure a reliable source of water for fire suppression in rural-residential areas through the cooperative efforts of water districts, fire districts, and residents. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 8, Page 15) x Promote the installation of early warning fire alarm systems in homes wildland-urban- interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to-extreme fire threat connected to fire department communication systems. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 10, Page 15) x Work with residents in rural-residential areas to ensure adequate access and evacuation in wildland-urban- interface fire-threatened communities or in areas exposed to high-to- extreme fire threat. (Wildfire and Structural Fires Item 12, Page 15)

See Attachment B-1 for these items (the same or similar items are in other sections of Attachment B-1) and Attachments B-2 and B-3 for the Santa Clara County plan for these items.

1. Access and Egress

East Foothills is just east of Highway 680 and, in general, there are many improved streets and roads that provide access to the East Foothills CWPP area including Alum Rock Avenue, White Road, Mt. Hamilton Road, Quimby Road and many others. However, there are also many private roads and high fire danger areas where access is limited for various reasons including: x Remote areas – many areas in East Foothills are a long distance from fire stations and some areas further east (e.g., Mt. Hamilton and Lick Observatory) are even more remote. For example, a fire in Grant Park past Quimby Road could close Mt. Hamilton Road (State Highway 130) which is the only good access to Mt. Hamilton and Lick Observatory. There are also other areas in the East Foothills CWPP area (e.g., Suncrest Avenue, Sierra Road, Alum Rock Park) where a fire could prevent access and egress. Fortunately, the CDF and SJFD respond simultaneously to wildfires in these Wildland Urban Interface areas and often CDF planes or helicopters arrive at the fire before the fire engines can reach the area. x Terrain – Steep terrain and roads are a hindrance to firefighting efforts in many areas (e.g., north of Alum Rock Park). As noted above, SJFD has four Brush Patrols (small fire engines with high clearance) at the Battalion 2 stations near East Foothills which can be used for these areas.

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x Landslides – Crothers Road and the Alum Rock Avenue entrance to Alum Rock Park have been closed for several years and parts of Clayton Road and Sierra Road were closed for several months earlier this year (2006) due to landslides. Station and even fire department response areas are changed as needed for road closures. For example, when Clayton Road was closed, the upper end could only be accessed from Mt. Hamilton Road and, when Sierra Road was closed, Spring Valley VFD provided the first response for areas beyond the closure. x Equipment and personnel risks – the fire agencies are careful not to commit equipment and personnel where the risks are too high. While the risks are evaluated for each fire and situation, some areas are inherently risky. For example, Poppy Lane is a narrow private road with no fire hydrants, one turnaround area and little Defensible Space around the homes. One of the purposes for developing the Crothers Road fuel break along the south side of Alum Rock Park was to improve access for the fire department to bring equipment and personnel down Crothers Road to Miradero Avenue. x Low overhanging tree limbs – Some areas, particularly private roads (e.g. Poppy Lane), have low overhanging tree limbs which prevent some fire vehicles from accessing all or part of the area. SJFD Truck 2 from Station 2 on Alum Rock Avenue is 12 feet, 4 inches tall so about a 13 foot clearance is needed. Brush Patrols can access these areas but their capability to fight a significant fire is limited.

The East Foothills CWPP area, as well as all the surrounding areas, are subject to earthquakes. The Hayward fault and many smaller faults run throughout the area. Earthquakes can cause structure fires and wildfires and also lead to landslides, limited ingress and egress, water supply interruptions and other problems which damage the firefighting infrastructure.

2. Water Supply and Availability

In general, there are adequate fire hydrants in the areas within the western half of the East Foothills CWPP area, both within the San Jose City limits and in the unincorporated areas. Additional information on fire hydrant and other fire prevention regulations is in Attachment C. Also, there are a number of man-made lakes, percolation ponds and swimming pools which can be used by SJFD or by CDF helicopters.

In the eastern half of the CWPP area, however, there are no fire hydrants and water supplies are much more limited. Fortunately, many property owners recognize this danger and have private water tanks with fittings that can be used by fire engines. SJFD tries to mark the location of these private water supplies on their maps and property owners should ensure that SJFD knows the location of their water supplies and that they have the fittings needed.

As noted above, SJFD has three Water Tenders, including one at Station 2 on Alum Rock Avenue, which can be used to replenish the fire engines and to provide water from fire hydrants or other sources to more remote areas. Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department also has two Water Tenders which can be deployed to the East Foothills area when needed.

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J. Insurance Companies

The CDF information on why 100 feet of Defensible space is important notes that “A Defensible Space of 100 feet around your home is required by law” and includes “Current regulations allow an insurance company to require additional clearance.”70

In general, homeowners insurance companies use specialized companies like ISO to evaluate risks for individual properties rather than doing all their own risk analysis. As noted in their “About ISO” information, ISO supplies data, analytics, and decision-support services for professionals in many fields, including insurance, finance, real estate, health services, government, and human resources. Their products help their customers like insurance companies measure, manage, and reduce risk.71

For wildfire risk information, ISO provides products like LOCATION®: “For any address in the wildfire-prone areas of nine western states, LOCATION Wildfire Services give you information on the critical risk factors – fuel, slope, and access. For California, Wildfire Services tell you whether the property is in a designated brushfire zone.”72

LOCATION Wildfire Services consist of two components that help insurance companies mitigate the wildfire risk: x California Brush Fire Service – LOCATION tells insurance companies whether a risk address is in a designated California brushfire zone. The system provides the name of the hazardous brush area and the identifier code. That information lets insurance companies quickly and easily determine their brushfire exposure and eligibility for California FAIR Plan credits. x FireLine – State-of-the-art FireLine technology gives insurance companies detailed, up- to-date information on the wildfire risk factors, as well as an overall hazard rating for the property. FireLineTM is a software and database product that combines recognized risk factors and satellite imagery to pinpoint potential hazards from wildfire. Insurance companies use the information to help underwrite new business and manage their aggregate wildfire exposure.73

ISO and other companies also provide information on the general wildfire risk. For example, ISO’s The Wildland/Urban Fire Hazard includes:74

The Hazard (from ISO’s The Wildland/Urban Fire Hazard) Although the historical record shows no clear trend in the number of wildfires, the number of acres burned each year fell from a peak of 52.3 million in 1930 to 3.6 million in 1958. Since

70 See http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/about_content/downloads/Defens_space_flyer4_11final.pdf 71 See http://www.iso.com/about_iso/ 72 See http://www.iso.com/products/2400/prod2437.html 73 See http://www.iso.com/products/2400/prod2471.html 74 See http://www.iso.com/studies_analyses/docs/study009.html, December 1997

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then, the number of acres burned each year by wildfires has remained fairly steady, ranging from a high of 7.4 million in 1988 to a low of 1.6 million in 1993. The long-term decline in the number of acres burned reflects fire suppression policies aimed at extinguishing wildfires as quickly as possible. One unintended consequence of such policies has been accumulation of brush and other vegetation – fuel to feed future wildfires. Without periodic natural fires or active measures to reduce fuel, the risk and potential intensity of future fires increase.

While unprecedented amounts of fuel have accumulated, the population has shifted. More and more people are living in or near areas prone to wildfire. During the twentieth century, the population of the United States has moved west. In recent decades, the population has also become more dispersed. Those trends have increased the number of people living in heavily vegetated areas where wildlands meet urban development — the wildland/urban interface. "These new wildland/urban immigrants give little thought to the wildfire hazard," according to the Federal Wildland Policy.

The result is more homes and other structures at risk. Together, the accumulation of fuel and development in hazardous areas pose particular challenges for insureds and insurers, as well as government agencies responsible for fire prevention, mitigation, and suppression.

In broad perspective, the challenges and their respective solutions fit into two categories. The first category consists of socioenvironmental challenges associated with the unprecedented accumulation of fuel and population growth in areas prone to wildfire. The solutions to those challenges involve mitigating potential losses though increased understanding of fire behavior, public education, fire-safe building codes, landscaping ordinances, and the like.

The second category consists of the risk decision challenges insurers face in underwriting properties exposed to the wildfire hazard – challenges much like the ones insurers face in underwriting properties exposed to hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural hazards. The solutions to those challenges include: developing and implementing appropriate underwriting guidelines; measuring and managing the aggregate amount of wildfire exposure in an insurer's book of business; managing the geographic distribution of exposures to prevent excessive concentration in any single area or contiguous areas prone to wildfires; and educating agents and insureds about loss mitigation.

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The Response (from ISO’s The Wildland/Urban Fire Hazard)

Many community groups and agencies at all levels of government have recognized the need to address the wildfire hazard. Those organizations include the U.S. Department of the Interior (USDI), responsible for our national parks; the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), responsible for our national forests; governors' associations; state departments of forestry; county governments; fire departments; and others.

The responses to the wildfire hazard include hazard mapping, fuel management, adoption and enforcement of stricter building codes, and educating individuals about what they can do to make their property safer.

Despite those responses, the wildfire hazard persists. The reasons that the hazard persists include: x resistance from property owners and developers x expense of fuel management x development and land use patterns in the wildland/urban interface x diffusion of responsibility among a wide range of government agencies x priorities and jurisdictional issues x constraints imposed by law on fuel reduction and other mitigation efforts

Research Until recently, researchers studying fire have done little work on how wildfire spreads to buildings and how those structures react. Fire protection engineers focused on interior fires, and forest fire behavior models ignored how fire moves into buildings. Now, however, researchers and others are responding with models that can assess the risk of structures igniting and databases that track the features common in houses destroyed by wildfire. Research shows that fire intensity is the most important factor affecting whether a structure will ignite. Once the intensity of a wildfire passes a certain point, little else matters. Research also shows that the amount and type of fuel and topography – the steepness of the terrain – affect the intensity of a fire.

At lower intensities, the following factors determine a structure's prospects for survival: x the amount of cleared space around the structure x the structure's construction x access to the site x whether anyone takes defensive action

The amount of space cleared of combustible vegetation around structures affects whether fire spreads to structures. Construction characteristics (especially roof type, the number and type of windowpanes, the presence of unenclosed decks, and the presence of soffit vents) also affect whether structures will ignite and how likely they are to survive. Access affects firefighters' ability to suppress fire and protect structures. Defensive action can reduce the likelihood of a structure igniting and, in the event it does ignite, can increase the structure's prospects for survival.

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Fire danger rating systems can now gauge the likelihood that fires will start, and models can predict the spread of fires. Other new tools and technology combine information about fuels, obtained from satellite imagery, with information about roads and topography to generate hazard maps and assess the wildfire risk facing specific properties.

Our observations during the field surveys for this CWPP confirm that the general observations above apply to this area including: “Without periodic natural fires or active measures to reduce fuel, the risk and potential intensity of future fires increase” and “the accumulation of fuel and development in hazardous areas pose particular challenges for … fire prevention, mitigation, and suppression.”

Insurance companies support the California Fire Safe Council and industry outreach organizations like the Insurance Information Network of California,75 which is a non-profit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to informing consumers and the media about the property/casualty business. Their Wildfire Prevention section includes:

Many rustic regions have become popular home-building areas, placing more Californians in danger of brushfire than ever before. Since 1970, the population of 11 California counties – nine of them forested – has grown by more than 150 percent.

There are more than 200 California communities in urban/wildland areas that are considered high- risk. These areas have the conditions that encourage the ignition and rapid spread of wildfires. The following characteristics put many people and homes at risk: x Extreme terrain regions – mountains, hills, ravines and canyons x Abundance of fuel – trees, shrubs, dry grass and other vegetation x Fire weather – dry air, strong winds x Population – heavily populated areas with homes close together

Standard homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies cover fire losses. But by taking some precautionary steps, you can reduce the chances of becoming a fire victim…

Your roof is the most vulnerable part of your house because it can easily catch fire from wind- blown sparks of a wildfire. Build or re-roof with fire resistive or noncombustible materials. Your local fire department can provide specific roofing guidelines in your area.

75 See www.iinc.org. The Wildfire Prevention section is at www.iinc.org/cons_issues/home/Wildfireprevention.html.

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III. Procedures

A. Field Assessment

1. Methods

As noted above, six field survey trips were made and eight reports and 20 field survey forms were compiled for the East Foothills CWPP area. The field survey form in Table II-2 above summarizes the entire CWPP area in one form. Similar field survey forms were completed for each of the areas surveyed. Some field survey forms are for large areas where the vegetation and conditions are similar while others are for much smaller areas where the vegetation and conditions are unique.

SJFD Battalion Chief José Luna and/or SJFD Wildland Officer Captain José Guerrero, both of whom are very familiar with this area, led the field surveys and identified the highest fire danger East Foothills WUI areas. Mike McClintock, the Supervisor of Alum Rock Park, and Ranger Doug Colbeck participated in surveys around the Park. Allan Thompson participated in all the surveys and compiled the results. Captain Guerrero and Allan Thompson revisited the most important areas with Mike Huff and Scott Eckardt of Dudek later. CDF Battalion Chief Mike Stonum and Allan Thompson revisited some of the areas after the Suncrest fire in September, 2006. Since these field surveys and tours extended over almost one year from late 2005 until late 2006), a wide variety of vegetation and fuel conditions were observed.

The areas visited include: 1. Crothers Road east from Alum Rock Avenue to Peacock Gap Drive along the south side of Alum Rock Park 2. Crothers Road southeast from Peacock Gap Drive to Mt. Hamilton Road (including the Country Club Heights townhomes) 3. Mt. Hamilton Road southwest from Crothers Road to Alum Rock Avenue (including Miguelita Avenue from Mt. Hamilton Road to Alum Rock Avenue) 4. Clayton Road east from Story Road and north to Mt. Hamilton Road and Fleming Avenue east from Story Road 5. Mt. Pleasant Road southeast from Clayton Road and Higuera Road and Higuera Highlands 6. Quimby Road east from Ruby Avenue to Mt. Hamilton Road and Mt. Hamilton Road northwest from Quimby Road to Crothers Road 7. Aborn Road area and The Villages 8. Hillcrest Area (North of McKee Road and Alum Rock Avenue) 9. The southwestern side of Alum Rock Park from Penitencia Creek Road to the corner of Alum Rock Avenue and Crothers Road 10. West and north of the Penitencia Creek entrance to Alum Rock Park and north of the Park along Sierra Road

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The observations and results of these field surveys are covered in the next two sections.

2. Observations

In general, the observations during the field surveys include: 1. Many homes were observed in high fire danger areas with good fire resistant roofs, protected eaves and more or less adequate Defensible Space around the homes. 2. Conversely, many homes were also observed in high fire danger areas with old, wood shake roofs, unprotected eaves, fire prone trees and little or no Defensible Space around the homes. Often these were older homes interspersed among newer, more fire resistant homes. 3. Some fire prone, grassy fields had been disked, at least partially along roadways, others had not. 4. Wildfire awareness appeared to be relatively low, probably because there hasn’t been a large, uncontrolled wildfire in this area for many years. 5. Increased fuel levels due to wet spring weather and quickly controlled wildfires have led to increased fuel accumulations and high fire danger conditions in many areas. 6. Residents and fire department personnel have observed increasing levels of fireworks use and other incidents (e.g., burned cars in remote areas) which could easily ignite dangerous wildfires.

An important question for this CWPP is how to effectively communicate the results to residents. We published our first attempt in a local online newsletter, New Neighborhood Voice, on October 8, 200676 and a second article was published on November 5, 2006.77 The question and answer format for these articles was chosen so more people are likely to read the articles. More information on our Community Outreach and Education programs and our plans to communicate the observations and results are in Section I.E above and Section IV.E below.

3. Results

The two most important results of the field surveys are: 1. More than adequate field observations and surveys were completed to support the fire behavior models described below. 2. A number of large and small projects were identified which will reduce the potential risk of wildfires in various areas. More information on these projects is in Section IV.E below and Attachment F.

The field survey results and forms for each area are available. If you are interested, please e-mail [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

76 See http://www.nnvesj.org/Y06/Ed40/Edition40S2.htm#Ed40B8. 77 See http://www.nnvesj.org/Y06/Ed41/Edition41S2.htm#Ed41S13.

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The field surveys resulted in the high and medium priority plans (which are the last two sections of the survey form) shown in Attachment D. The area numbers correspond to the areas visited (see Section III.A.1).

It should be noted that we did not visit all the East Foothills areas and the plans in Attachment D are representative examples rather than an exhaustive list of problem areas.

B. Fire Behavior Models

Two separate fire hazard assessments were conducted in the preparation of this CWPP: a Geographic Information System (GIS)-generated fire hazard overlay map and an assessment of fire behavior potential using BehavePlus software.

The GIS-based Fire Hazard Overlay Map (FHOM) utilizes site-specific landscape variables (including slope, aspect, and vegetation type) to classify and graphically represent wildfire hazards. It is useful in locating portions of the East Foothills area that are more prone to wildfire hazard than other areas. The fire behavior analysis utilizes BehavePlus software to calculate expected fire behavior characteristics, such as flame length and spread rate, based on similar site- specific input variables (including slope, vegetation type/fuel model, and weather conditions).

Fire behavior analysis outputs also provide an understanding of hazard, but also allow fire response personnel to assess response and initial attack methods and to better understand the conditions that may occur should a wildfire start. The results of the models generated during the preparation of this CWPP indicate that the East Foothills area poses a significant fire threat to the local East Foothills residents, the San Jose Fire Department, and the residents of San Jose.

C. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analysis

1. Fire Hazard Overlay Map

This section provides a summary of the processes performed in generating a Fire Hazard Overlay Map (FHOM). The process for map generation involved utilizing existing spatial data, more specifically, GIS data, in combination with field verification of existing vegetation conditions during field assessments with FireSafe Council members and fire department personnel.

The FHOM model incorporates three separate input variables as a way to highlight portions of the study area that present unique fire and/or fuel hazard conditions. The variables included in this analysis include slope, aspect, and vegetation/fuel type. Included in this section is a description of the methods, assumptions, and data sources used in creating the FHOM map for the East Foothills CWPP. Ultimately, the map generated as a result of this process serves as a basis for identifying areas with potential hazards and assists prioritization of fuel treatment areas within the geographic limits of the CWPP area.

The FHOM was created by performing an analysis of raster GIS data utilizing the Spatial Analyst extension within ArcView 9.1 software. As previously mentioned, three input variables were used in this analysis, including slope, aspect, and vegetation/fuel type. Within each of these categories, a weighted rank value ranging from 0 to 10 was assigned to each classification, with higher values

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assigned to landscape features that present higher hazard levels. The following discussion of each variable outlines the data source, the weighted value assignments, and justifications for rank values.

a. Slope

Slope data was derived from a 10-meter digital elevation model (DEM) and calculated in percent units.78 The ranking values reflect increased hazard with increased slope values as steeper slopes allow for the preheating of fuels, the creation of a draft effect, and accelerate expected wildfire spread rates. Slope values within the East Foothills CWPP area range from 0% (flat) to 60% (about 30 degrees). Table III-1 outlines the weighted values assigned to ranges in slope values.

Table III-1: Slope Value Weights Slope Range Slope Range Weighted Value (Percent) (Degrees) 0% - 5% 0° - 2.9° 1 5% - 10% 2.9° - 5.7° 2 10% - 15% 5.7° - 8.5° 3 15% - 20% 8.5° - 11.3° 4 20% - 25% 11.3° - 14.0° 5 25% - 30% 14.0° - 16.7° 6 30% - 35% 16.7° - 19.3° 7 35% - 40% 19.3° - 21.8° 8 40% - 45% 21.8° - 24.2° 9 45% + 24.2° + 10

b. Aspect

Aspect data was also derived from the same 10-meter DEM utilized in the slope analysis and was calculated in azimuth degrees (0-360 degrees). Aspect is defined as the direction in which a slope faces. Its impact on fire hazard is related to sun exposure, and, consequently, vegetation type and humidity levels. In this case, south and west-facing slopes were ranked higher based on a greater solar pre-heating component than north and east facing slopes. Additionally, south and west- facing slopes are typically characterized by drier shrub and grass cover with lower humidity levels. Rankings did not consider time of day or unique wind conditions.

Table III-2 outlines the weighted values assigned to ranges in aspect values.

78 Data Source: USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM) – 10 meter resolution: California Spatial Information Library (http://gis.ca.gov/)

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Table III-2: Aspect Value Weights Aspect General Direction Weighted Value (azimuth degrees) 1 - 45 Northeast 5 45 - 90 East 6 90 - 135 East 7 135 - 180 Southeast 8 180 - 225 Southwest 10 225 - 270 West 10 270 - 315 West 7 315 - 360 Northwest 6

c. Vegetation/Fuel

Vegetative cover types for the East Foothills area were analyzed and were assigned fuel model values.79 Fuel models, numeric values assigned to general vegetation types, are ultimately used in fire behavior calculations in the BehavePlus software package. Individual fuel models incorporate fuel characteristic values, including fuel load, fuel bed depth, and fuel heat content, amongst others. The characteristics of fuel models used in this analysis are described in greater detail in the following Fire Behavior Analysis section.

For the purposes of the FHOM analysis, higher hazard values were assigned to more upland vegetation classifications. Such vegetation types include grassland, chaparral and coastal sage scrub. Grasslands received higher values based on the potential for rapid fire spread, while chaparral and coastal sage scrub were classified with higher values due to high oil contents and typically larger amounts of dead fuel accumulation retained within existing plants. Eucalyptus woodlands also received higher hazard values due to species-specific characteristics such as high oil content and frequently shedding bark that may promote ground to canopy fire spread. Riparian vegetation communities received more intermediate values, as vegetation in these areas typically has higher moisture content values due to more readily available ground water. Those receiving low values primarily include wetland and vegetation types and areas with urban land cover.

Table III-3 outlines the fuel model numbers and weighted values assigned to each individual vegetation type found in the East Foothills area.

79 Data Source:California Gap Analysis Project GIS Data (http://www.biogeog.ucsb.edu/projects/gap/data/meta/landcovdd.html) with modifications based on field analysis.

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Table III-3: Vegetation and Fuel Model Classifications

Vegetation Type Fuel Model Number Weighted Value Annual Grassland 3 7 Barren 0 0 Blue Oak/Foothill Pine 9 6 Blue Oak Woodland 8 6 Coast Oak Woodland 8 6 Closed Cone Pine/Cypress 8 6 Chamise/Redshank Chaparral 4 9 Cropland 0 0 Coastal Sage Scrub 18 9 Eucalyptus 9 6 Lacustrine 98 0 Mixed Chaparral 4 9 Montane Hardwood/Conifer 8 6 Montane Hardwood 8 6 Orchard/Vineyard 8 6 Ponderosa Pine 9 6 Redwood 8 6 Urban 0 0 Valley Oak Woodland 8 6 Valley/Foothill Riparian 9 6

d. Calculations and Results

The final FHOM for the East Foothills area was generated by utilizing the Spatial Analyst tools in ArcGIS software. Specifically, the weighted values for slope, aspect, and fuel type were multiplied together, resulting in a final range of values between 0 and 900. Based on specific geographic location and the resulting combination of slope, aspect and fuel type values, a final weighted numeric value was assigned based on an incorporation of the variables discussed above.

Fire hazard classifications ranging from Low to Very High were assigned to areas based on their cumulative rank score. Rank values were classified in the GIS software package and were based on Jenks Natural Breaks classifications with six individual classes (Low – Very High) spreading to the maximum value (900).

Table III-4 presents the breakdown of total rank values for each hazard class.

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Table III-4: Fire Hazard Classification Ranges for the East Foothills FHOM Fire Hazard Rank Value Classification Low 0 – 100 Low-Moderate 101 – 168 Moderate 169 – 240 Moderate-High 241 – 324 High 325 – 480 Very High 481 –900

The FHOM graphically represents the fire hazard situation in the East Foothill project area and identifies specific threat areas that are discussed in this CWPP. Specifically, the area within and adjacent to Alum Rock Park ranks higher in the hazard classification system than much of the surrounding area based on heavier fuel loads and steeper slopes.

The location of High and Very High hazard areas corresponds directly with steeper slopes and typically denser vegetative cover. However, some grassland areas are included in the High hazard areas due to extreme slope gradients that will promote very rapid fire spread. This analysis provides an information base supporting the local SJFD and the CDF knowledge from which fire planning and fuel treatment prescriptions can be prioritized. The FHOM generated for the East Foothills project area is shown in Figure III-1.80

80 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/FHOM_EastFoothillsv3.pdf (PDF File) for the East Foothills Fire Hazard Overlay Map. This PDF version can be expanded to show additional roads, streets and details.

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Figure III-1: East Foothills Fire Hazard Overlay Map

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2. Fire Behavior Analysis

Fire behavior and hazard modeling includes a high level of analysis and information detail to arrive at reasonably accurate representations of how wildfire would move through available fuels on a given site. Fire behavior calculations are based on site specific fuel characteristics supported by fire science research that analyzes heat transfer related to specific fire behavior. To objectively predict flame lengths and intensities, the BehavePlus 3.0.1 fire behavior modeling system81 was applied using predominant fuel characteristics, slope percentages, and representative fuel models observed within the East Foothills project area. Two analyses per fuel model were completed using weather inputs related to more severe Diablo wind conditions (warm, dry easterly winds) and typical onshore flow conditions.

Predicting wildland fire behavior is not an exact science. As such, the minute-by-minute movement of a fire will probably never be predictable, especially when considering the variable state of weather and the fact that weather conditions are typically estimated from forecasts made many hours before a fire. Nevertheless, field-tested and experienced judgment in assessing the fire environment, coupled with a systematic method of calculating fire behavior yields surprisingly accurate results.82 The BehavePlus 3.0.1 fire behavior modeling system was used to predict the expected fire behavior for the East Foothills projects area.

To be used effectively, the basic assumptions and limitations of BehavePlus must be understood. x First, it must be realized that the fire model describes fire behavior only in the flaming front. The primary driving force in the predictive calculations are the dead fuels less than one-fourth inch in diameter. These are the fine fuels that carry fire. Fuels greater than one inch have little effect while fuels greater than three inches have no effect on fire behavior. x Second, the model bases calculations and de scriptions on a wildfire spreading through surface fuels that are within six feet of the ground and contiguous to the ground. Surface fuels are often classified as grass, brush, litter, or slash. x Third, the software assumes that weather and topography are uniform. However, because wildfires almost always burn under non-uniform conditions, length of projection period and choice of fuel model must be carefully considered to obtain useful predictions. x Fourth, the BehavePlus fire behavior computer modeling system was not intended for determining sufficient fuel modification zone widths. However, it does provide the average length of the flames, which is a key element for determining “Defensible Space” distances for minimizing structure ignition.

81 Andrews, Patricia L., BEHAVE: Fire Behavior Prediction and Fuel Modeling System- Burn Subsystem, Part 1, USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report INT-194, 1986, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT., http://fire.org/downloads/behaveplus/2.0.2/bp2_overview.pdf 82 Rothermel, Richard C., How to Predict the Spread and Intensity of Forest and Range Fires, USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report INT-143, 1983. Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment, Ogden, UT. http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/24635

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Although BehavePlus has some limitations, it can still provide valuable fire behavior predictions which can be used as a tool in the decision-making process. In order to make reliable estimates of fire behavior, one must understand the relationship of fuels to the fire environment and be able to recognize the variations in these fuels. Natural fuels are made up of the various components of vegetation, both live and dead, that occur on a site. The type and quantity will depend upon the soil, climate, geographic features, and the fire history of the site. The major fuel groups of grass, shrub, trees and slash are defined by their constituent types and quantities of litter and duff layers, dead woody material, grasses and forbs, shrubs, regeneration, and trees. Fire behavior can be predicted largely by analyzing the characteristics of these fuels. Fire behavior is affected by seven principal fuel characteristics: fuel loading, size and shape, compactness, horizontal continuity, vertical arrangement, moisture content, and chemical properties.

All vegetation is considered “fuel.” All vegetation will burn, however, some species require more heat in order to ignite and propagate flame. The moisture content of vegetation is an important component, whereas dry vegetation will ignite more rapidly as green vegetation must lose its moisture before it will ignite. Consequently, shrub land vegetation with high oil content (above 6%) will burn more quickly and hotter than vegetation with high leaf moisture levels and low oil content levels. More than 90% of the flaming front of a wildfire is composed of fuel less than one- half inch in diameter, and is consumed in minutes. Fuels larger than one inch in diameter are termed “residual” fuel and may require several hours to burn out. This larger fuel does not contribute to the forward rate of spread of the fire.

Fuel loading is defined as the oven dry weight of fuels in a given area, usually expressed in tons per acre. Natural fuel loading varies greatly by vegetative or fuel types in addition to the different size classes of fuel particles. Vegetation types can be rated as "light,” "moderate” or "heavy.” Each rating is an estimation of the dead or live surface fuels that are less than three inches in diameter. Although specific measurements were not taken, the cursory survey of the site revealed moderate to high ratings.

Measuring the intensity, force, and destructive potential of wildfire is accomplished by observing flame lengths produced by burning vegetation. A direct relationship exists between the amount of energy released during burning (per second), and the length of flame generated. The standard for measuring energy release in the United States is the British Thermal Unit (BTU). One BTU is defined as the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit (a standard kitchen match or candle flame is approximately one BTU).

Size and shape affect the surface area to volume ratio of fuels. Small fuels have a greater surface area to volume ratio than larger fuels. Dead fuels are separated into four size classes: (1) grass, litter, or duff less than one-quarter inch diameter; (2) twigs and small stems one-quarter inch to one inch diameter; (3) branches one inch to three inches diameter; and (4) large stems and branches greater than three inches diameter. The fine fuels less than one-quarter inch in diameter are most important for fire behavior analysis because their ignition time is less and fuel moisture content changes rapidly. This characteristic is typical for the grass understory identified in some areas.

The arrangement, size and surface area of vegetative fuels plays an important role in fire behavior and spread potential. Dense, concentrated biomass may burn evenly, however, when overall size decreases, and surface area increases (as seen in native shrub stands), burning patterns change

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 67 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

resulting in faster ignition and spread. Standing grass, scrub, and chaparral have a high surface area to volume ratios, whereas forest litter and chipped or cut biomass exhibit very low surface to volume ratios.

The compactness, or spacing between fuel particles, affects the rate of combustion. For example, fuel particles that are tightly compacted have less surface area exposed, less air circulation between particles, and thus are slower to combust. The thick duff layer found underneath a mixed forest is an example of a tightly compacted fuel, whereas the open, dead branches on coastal sage scrub species are considered a loosely compacted fuel. The fuels within and adjacent to the site can be characterized as loosely spaced with adequate air circulation required to carry a fire.

The vegetative types within the East Foothills project area were evaluated during field assessments. Horizontal continuity is the extent of horizontal distribution of fuels at various levels or planes. Fuels are either rated as uniform or patchy. Uniform fuels are those that are evenly distributed and occur in a continuous, non-interrupted cover across the landscape. Patchy fuels are those that are not continuous.

Vertical arrangement is defined as the relative heights of fuels above the ground, as well as their vertical continuity. Both of these vegetation characteristics influence the ability of fire to reach various fuel levels or strata. Vegetation of various heights that can transport fire from the low- level brush to tree canopies is called a fuel ladder and may create what is called a "crown fire”. When tall grasses and shrubs grow around trees with low hanging branches, the result is a fuel ladder. When a ground fire climbs the fuel ladder into the crowns of trees, it can spread canopy to canopy, creating higher fire intensity and firebrands (spotting).

A very important fuels characteristic is fuel moisture content. This is defined as the amount of water in fuels. The moisture content of plant materials plays a major role in the ignition, development, and spread of fires. Fuel moisture controls the current flammability of fuels, both living and dead. During the most active growing periods of spring, the moisture content of plant foliage may be quite high. As the season progresses, a plant’s moisture content declines until late summer or early fall when the plant becomes dormant or completely dies. Fine fuels, less than one fourth inch diameter, are most responsible for the spread of fire and have highly variable fuel moisture contents depending on the relative humidity of the air. Live fuel moisture content during the peak fire season (October through December) is estimated to be 60- to 80- percent in the drier open areas. This can potentially drop to less than 60-percent under extreme, dry wildfire conditions.

There are two types of fuel moisture values to consider. Dead fuel moisture, with measurements of 1 hour time-lag, 10 hour time-lag, 100 hour time-lag, and 1000 hour time-lag, and live fuel moisture. Temperature, aspect, time of day, relative humidity and month of the year are all determinants in the percentage of dead fuel moisture. One hour time-lag fuel is less than ½ inch thick, 10 hour time-lag fuel is between ½ inch and 1inch thick; 100 hour time-lag fuel is between 1 inch and 3 inches thick and 1000 hour time-lag fuel is greater than 3 inches in thickness. One hour time-lag fuel can reach equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere in one hour, or within minutes when air temperature is exceeds 80° F. and relative humidity is below 25%. One hour time-lag fuel moisture may be calculated using a set of tables that reference time of day, month, aspect, slope, temperature and relative humidity. Ten hour, 100 hour, and 1000 hour time-lag fuel

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 68 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

can take up to 10 hours, 100 hours, or 1000 hours to reach equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere, respectively. 1 hour, 10 hour and 100 hour time-lag fuels are usually given equal value. One thousand hour time-lag fuel, which occurs in more heavily wooded environments (i.e. timber), is generally used in measuring drought effects. Forests are considered ‘critical” when 1000 hour fuel measurements are less than 15% (as a frame of references, kiln-dried wood moisture averages 22%).

Chaparral and coastal sage scrub are common California vegetation types found in many upland locations and generally have reduced fuel moisture levels. Conversely, riparian vegetation, including California sycamore (Platanus racemosa), willow (Salix spp.), and mulefat (Baccharis glutinosa) has higher leaf moisture values than vegetation growing in drier, more xeric sites. The importance of fuel moisture in examining fire hazard is that higher moisture levels ultimately require higher BTU output to ignite or sustain ignition. Consequently, fuel arrangement, along with fuel chemical/moisture content, plays an important role in wildfire combustion, spread, and heat output. Fuel moisture is a significant component as vegetation requires external heat and energy to reduce moisture levels before it will ignite. High winds, low relative humidity, and/or high temperatures begin the process of removing fuel moisture thus allowing vegetation to ignite and burn more rapidly. Consequently, lower fuel moisture values, including both dead and live fuel moistures, result in increased fire intensity. Moisture-laden fuels inhibit complete combustion while simultaneously producing excessive smoke output.

Fuel chemical properties include the presence of volatile substances such as oils, resins, wax, and pitch. These also affect the rate of combustion. Chaparral has a rather high amount of these volatile substances that contribute to rapid rates of spread and high fire intensities. The pitch, resin, and oils in ornamental trees such as pines (Pinus spp.), California pepper (Schinus molle), and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) trees also increases fire hazard. Oil and moisture contents vary between fuels and fluctuate depending on the time of year. When stressed during extreme dry weather conditions, numerous shrub species may react explosively when moisture falls below 60%, whereas larger shrubs may require higher energy to sustain ignition.

Fuel loading, fuel size and shape, fuel compactness, horizontal continuity, vertical arrangement, fuel moisture content, and fuel chemical properties are all descriptors that help define the 13 standard fire behavior fuel models83 and the more recently developed custom fuel models. Fuel models used in BehavePlus have been classified into 4 groups, based upon fuel loading (tons/acre), fuel height, and surface to volume ratio. Observation of the fuels in the East Foothills project area determined which fuel models would be applied in BehavePlus. The following describes the classification of fuel models based on vegetation type:

Grasses: Fuel Models 1 through 3 Brush: Fuel Models 4 through 7, SCAL 14 through 18 Timber: Fuel Models 8 through 10 Logging Slash: Fuel Models 11 through 13 (40 additional models were introduced in 2005 with BehavePlus 3.0.1)

83 Anderson, Hal E., Aids to Determining Fuel Models for Estimating Fire Behavior, USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report INT-122, 1982. Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT. http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr122.pdf

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 69 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Five different fuel models (models 3, 4, 8, 9, and 18) were used in the BehavePlus analysis for the East Foothills project area and are required inputs for the mathematical fire spread model. BehavePlus was used in this analysis to predict flame length, spread rate, and heat/unit area values to better understand the potential fire behavior characteristics of the site. The following describes the different fuel models used in the analysis:

Fuel Model 3:84 Fires in this fuel are the most intense of the grass group and display high rates of spread under the influence of wind. Wind may drive fire into the upper heights of the grass and across standing water. Stands are tall, averaging about 3 feet (1 meter), but considerable variation may occur. Approximately one-third of the stand is considered dead or cured and maintains the fire. Wild or cultivated grains that have not been harvested can be considered similar to tall prairie and marshland grasses. Vegetation classified as a fuel model 3 in the project area is composed of native and non-native grasses as well as exotic weeds. Heights do not exceed 4 feet.

Figure III-2 is a representative Photograph of Fuel Model 3 in the East Foothills Area.

Figure III-2: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 3 in the East Foothills Area

84 Fuel models 1, 4, 8, and 9 from Anderson 1982, above.

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Fuel Model 4: Fire intensity and fast-spreading fires involve the foliage and live and dead fine woody material in the crowns of a nearly continuous secondary overstory. Stands of mature shrubs, 6 or more feet tall, such as California mixed chaparral, the high pocosin along the east coast, the pine barrens of New Jersey, or the closed jack pine stands of the north-central states are typical candidates. Besides combustible foliage, dead woody material in the stands significantly contributes to the fire intensity. Height of stands qualifying for this model depends on local conditions. A deep litter layer may also hamper suppression efforts.

Vegetation classified as a fuel model number 4 exists primarily on the hillsides within Alum Rock Park. Shrub vegetation in this area is dense, often reaching six feet in height, and forms a continuous ladder into neighboring trees. Ground cover in these areas generally consists of a duff layer at least 6 inches deep. The major concern for fire hazard in this fuel type is the horizontal and vertical continuity of the vegetation which promotes fire spread uphill toward existing structures.

Figure III-3 is a representative Photograph of Fuel Model 4 in the East Foothills Area.

Figure III-3: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 4 in the East Foothills Area

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Fuel Model 8: Slow-burning fire with low flame lengths are generally the case, although the fire may encounter an occasional “jackpot” or heavy fuel concentration that can flare up. Only under severe weather conditions involving high temperatures, low humidities, and high winds do the fuels pose fire hazards. Closed canopy stands of short-needle conifers or hardwoods that have leafed out support fire in the compact litter layer. This layer is mainly needles, leaves, and occasionally twigs because little undergrowth is present in the stand. Representative conifer types are white pine, and lodgepole pine, spruce, fir, and larch.

Vegetation classified as fuel model number 8 exists within the limited hardwood and conifer woodlands located within or adjacent to the East Foothills project area. This fuel type supports ground fires beneath tree canopy cover within the leaf litter layer. Pockets of coast live oak trees (Quercus agrifolia) surrounded by grasslands are typical occurrences of this fuel type in the East Foothills. Such stands of trees may be beneficial in slowing the progress of a grass fire as the ground fuels change from standing dead grass with heights up to 3 feet to more compact ground litter. This assumes that vertical separation between grasses and tree canopies is maintained.

Figure III-4 is a representative Photograph of Fuel Model 8 in the East Foothills Area.

Figure III-4: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 8 in the East Foothills Area

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Fuel Model 9: Fires run through the surface litter faster than model 8 and have longer flame height. Both long-needle conifer stands and hardwood stands, especially the oak-hickory types, are typical. Fall fires in hardwoods are predictable, but high winds will actually cause higher rates of spread than predicted because of spotting caused by rolling and blowing leaves. Closed stands of long-needled pine like ponderosa, Jeffrey, and red pines or southern pine plantations are grouped in this model. Concentrations of dead-down woody material will contribute to possible torching out of trees, spotting, and crowning.

Vegetation classified as a fuel model number 9 is located only in limited areas within the East Foothills area characterized by dense riparian vegetation consisting of willow (Salix spp.), California sycamore (Platanus racemosa), coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), and other invasive species. The understory is characterized by leaf litter and coarse woody debris, often exceeding 3 inches in diameter. Standing dead and dying trees are also found in this area and create potential hazardous conditions. Fire hazard in this vegetation type is generally lower than that found in vegetation classified as fuel model 4 due to increased fuel moisture content as a result of more readily-available ground water.

Figure III-5 is a representative Photograph of Fuel Model 9 in the East Foothills Area.

Figure III-5: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 9 in the East Foothills Area

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Fuel Model 18: This fuel model represents typical California sage and buckwheat dominated coastal sage scrub vegetation communities. Fire spread is primarily through the fine herbaceous fuels, either cured or dead. Fuel possesses a high ether extractive content (oil) and will provide containment problems when fuel moisture is at 120%. Fire will burn explosively when fuel moisture is below 100%.

Vegetation classified as a fuel model number 18 exists in scattered patches intermixed with grasslands throughout the East Foothills. It is typically found in upland locations on south and west-facing slopes, but can also be found in canyon bottoms. Shrub vegetation in these area is less dense than those classified as fuel model 4, typically does not exceed 3- feet in height, and includes buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), California sage (Artemisia californica), black sage (Salvia mellifera), coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis), and other coastal sage scrub species. These shrub stands are typically more open than those classified as fuel model 4. The major concern for fire hazard in this fuel type is the horizontal and vertical continuity of the vegetation which promotes fire spread uphill toward existing structures.

Figure III-6 is a representative Photograph of Fuel Model 18 in the East Foothills Area.

Figure III-6: Representative Photograph of Fuel Model 18 in the East Foothills Area

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 74 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

a. BehavePlus Model Inputs

In addition to the fuel model inputs described above, two separate weather scenario inputs were derived from Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) located in the East Foothills area. Specifically, data from the Poverty and Ben Lomond RAWS stations was used to determine the weather input values presented in Table III-5. The reference period for the more extreme weather used was September 28, 2002 in order to obtain relevant extreme weather data corresponding to the 2002 Croy Fire that burned in southern Santa Clara County on that date. The typical weather conditions assumed an on-shore flow with winds blowing southward off the bay. Slope values used in the models were averages of those calculated during the FHOM preparation.

Table III-5 outlines BehavePlus input variables for both weather conditions evaluated for the project area. Table III-6 and Table III-7 outline BehavePlus output calculations by fuel model for the East Foothills area, broken down by the different weather scenarios.

Table III-5: BehavePlus Weather and Slope Inputs Typical Onshore Extreme Fire Input Values Conditions Conditions 1-h* Moisture 2% 2% 10-h* Moisture 3% 3% 100-h* Moisture 5% 5% Live Herbaceous Moisture 60% 30% Live Woody Moisture 80% 60% 20-ft Wind Speed 7 mph 20 mph Air Temperature 75˚ F 90˚ F Wind Direction upslope upslope Slope 25% 25% * 1 hour, 10 hour and 100 hour time-lag fuels (see definition above)

Table III-6: Vegetation Fire Behavior Outputs – Onshore Weather Pattern

Fuel 20- ft. Wind Rate of Spread Flame Heat/Unit Area Model Speed (mph) (mph) Length (ft.) (btu/sq. ft.) 3 7 3.66 23.2 980 4 7 2.33 32.6 3244 8 7 0.06 1.9 242 9 7 0.31 5.3 488 18 7 0.84 23.1 4258

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 75 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Table III-7: Vegetation Fire Behavior Outputs – Extreme Weather Pattern

Fuel 20- ft. Wind Rate of Spread Flame Heat/Unit Area Model Speed (mph) (mph) Length (ft.) (btu/sq. ft.) 3 20 5.68 28.3 980 4 20 4.54 45.2 3372 8 20 0.10 2.3 242 9 20 0.53 6.9 488 18 20 1.45 29.9 4337

b. Analysis and Interpretation of Model Results

As Table III-6 and Table III-7 indicate, wildfire behavior varies significantly by vegetation/fuel type. For example, heavy brush, indicated by fuel model number 4, exhibits the highest flame length values, while grass, indicated by fuel model number 3, exhibits the fastest spread rate. These results are consistent with expected outcomes, as the consumption of smaller fuels in grasslands promotes more rapid fire spread than the dense brush found in areas classified as fuel model number 4. Flame length values, however, are expected to be higher in dense brush, given the availability of dead leaf matter, the overall vegetation height, and the higher oil and resin content characteristic of the component shrub species comprising this fuel type.

It should be noted that the results presented in Table III-6 and Table III-7 depict values based on inputs to the BehavePlus software. Changes in slope, weather, or pockets of different fuel types are not accounted for in this analysis. Model results should be used as a basis for planning only, as actual fire behavior for a given location will be affected by many factors, including unique weather patterns, small-scale topographic variations, or changing vegetation patterns.

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IV. Wildfire Management and Mitigation Strategy

A. Community Risk Assessment

An important component to this CWPP is the community risk assessment where site specific community attributes are acquired from various sources for use in analysis and priority area determination. Dudek utilized fire behavior modeling, site evaluations, and San Jose Fire Department input to define the priority WUI hazard areas that will ultimately be earmarked for fuels reduction projects.

Detailed discussion of the fire behavior modeling and site survey evaluations is in previous sections of this CWPP (Sections III.C.1, III.C.2 and III.A.1). SJFD’s Wildland Officer provided a one day tour of the East Foothills that enabled Dudek to determine required inputs for fire modeling. In addition, SJFD provided critical, local fire professional site intelligence including typical fire types for this area, typical ignition sources, and response capabilities.

B. Community Priority Areas

The community risk assessment process resulted in a clear delineation of the areas of most concern. The urban areas, defined as improved areas of urbanization that include structures, irrigated landscapes, and associated infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, etc., are provided fast response and although they represent risk to citizens, are considered to be lower on the priority rankings due primarily to the type of fire typically encountered in these areas. SJFD’s excellent structural response capabilities minimize the overall risk associated with urban fires.

Backcountry wildland fires are also considered to have minimal impact on residents of the East Foothills area of Santa Clara County. Fires in these areas are provided fast response by CDF and others and can typically be contained to areas away from urbanization.

The risk assessment points to fires in the WUI as representing the highest risk to residents and their property. WUI area fires include wildland fire in the direct vicinity of interface or intermix residences and other structures. Fires in these areas have the potential to move from wildland fuels into urban fuels such as landscape plantings, outbuildings, decks, and homes. Likewise, structural fires have the potential to escape into wildland areas due to the continuous fuels from structure to landscape to wildland. Fires in these areas also create risk during evacuations in emergency situations. This CWPP focuses on the WUI areas and the following section identifies the specific priority areas of the East Foothills WUI.

C. Identification of WUI Priority Areas

1. Methods

WUI priority areas were identified through a comprehensive process as outlined in the preceding sections of this CWPP. In summary, the CWPP planning team considered climate, fuel type, fuel loads, terrain, fire history, ignition sources, fire behavior model results, historical incident responses, community age and construction type, and fuel modification zones, or lack thereof, Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 77 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

among other criteria to determine priority areas of the East Foothill’s WUI. The following sections detail the priority WUI areas for this CWPP.

2. Site Evaluation Results

a. Alum Rock Park Area

1. Residences above the north facing slope near the western edge of the park are at risk. This particular slope includes heavy fuels, dead and dying debris, and high potential for high intensity fire with residences directly adjacent at the top of slope. A wind driven fire up this slope would move fast and threaten lives and property. As such, it is given the highest priority.

2. Residences on the interface and intermix with grasslands on the west and south-facing slopes on the eastern park boundaries are also at risk. Recent fires in these areas have been fast moving as the flashy fuels are consumed. The topography facilitates rapid fire spread. Although fires in this area will be less intense than heavier fuel fires on the north facing slope, fires here have the potential to become intense and threaten property and lives due to inadequate fuel modification on the exposed sides of interface and intermix structures and the presence of combustible ornamental plantings in close proximity to structures.

3. Roadways throughout the park provide hiking, biking and other recreational opportunities. The park receives fairly high usage during the day and is also illegally utilized after hours. Maintenance along these roadways to reduce the grasses and introduce or maintain proper spacing of larger shrubs is considered a priority for reducing wildfire risk.

b. Southern East Foothills - Intermix Residences/Structures

1. Fuel Modification Zones around individual structures and small groupings of residences varies from adequate to inadequate. Fires in these areas will be fast moving fires that will become crown fires, with the potential to involve residential fire from poorly maintained landscape vegetation.

2. Roadways throughout the East Foothills wind through the steep terrain and provide citizens access to the back country to the east of San Jose. These roadways are a primary source of ignitions from vehicle fires (intentional and accidental), discarded cigarettes, fireworks, and arson, amongst others. Therefore, similar to the roadways within Alum Rock Park, a buffer of modified fuels is an important component to reducing the likelihood that fires near the roadway will jump into the vegetation and spread.

3. Utility line clearance is another important factor for the East Foothills. Numerous tree species grow within right of ways that are not appropriate for these areas due to their form and mature sizes. Enforcement of utility clearances will be crucial for minimizing the likelihood that fires are ignited from this potential source.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 78 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

3. Coordination With Stakeholders

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council participants and other important stakeholders were invited to participate in the development and review of this CWPP. The major decision makers and stakeholders for this CWPP are identified in Section I.D above.

Some of these major decision makers and stakeholders have their own wildfire prevention or mitigation plans for their properties and/or nearby properties: x Alum Rock Park (City of San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services) – See Section II.E.1. x Santa Clara County Open Space Authority – See Section II.E.3. x San Jose Water Company (SJWC) – SJWC serves over 100,000 people through 26,000 service connections in Zip Codes 95132, 95127, and 95148. The majority of the water supply for this area comes from imported water purchased from the Santa Clara Valley Water District Penitencia Water Treatment Plant. Imported water is pumped to several storage tanks located at higher elevations in the East Foothills to take advantage of gravity’s effect to maintain pressure for consumption and fire fighting.

To provide reliable service to the East Foothills area, six strategically located facilities provide the required storage and distribution capabilities. These facilities consist of steel storage tanks or earthen basins that range from 500,000 gallons to over 1,000,000 gallons, with some facilities having multiple tanks or basins.

SJWC supports the fire agencies’ and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council’s efforts to develop a CWPP for the East Foothills area. The company proactively conducts a vegetation management program at each facility to reduce the fire hazard, protect the infrastructure, and maintain a neat site appearance. Large open areas with high grass and weeds are disked several times a year. Areas around existing infrastructure are controlled through spraying and hand work. Dead or diseased trees are removed and the resulting mulch is used for groundcover when available to also retard weed growth.

D. Hazard Reduction Recommendations/Prescriptions

The following recommendations are provided to reduce hazards within the East Foothills priority WUI areas. These recommendations are based on known procedures that are specifically implemented to reduce fuel loading, break up fuel continuity, and reduce the likelihood that fire will affect valuable resources, either from wildfires reaching residences or from residential fires escaping into wildland areas.

1. Fuel Reduction

a. Alum Rock Park Area

Fuel reduction in Alum Rock Park will include primarily the following components:

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 79 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

North facing slope – establish minimum 100 foot fuel modification areas from the slope top structures (see Section IV.D.3 for specific fuel management recommendations). Fuel modification will include the removal of combustible vegetation, thinning of continuous fuel “chains” that extend from the structure to the “wildland” vegetation, creating and maintaining horizontal and vertical separation of fuels, and other means (see Section IV.D.3) to provide Defensible Space for the slope top residences. Maintenance of the fuel modification areas will be critical and shall be completed at least annually. Planting of landscape plants shall be restricted to those that include characteristics making them ignition resistant. Undesirable plants (see Attachment D) should not be allowed within the fuel modification areas.

Due to the limitations in achieving the setbacks on the slope top properties, there may be a requirement to thin the vegetation within the park portion of the fuel modification area. To that end, Park Management should be consulted and fuel treatments focused on methods that achieve fuel reduction goals while also meeting habitat management objectives. Homeowner education will be a large component of this mitigation factor. Typically, once homeowners are aware of the risk and its potential impacts on their property and the methods to mitigate that risk, they will comply, especially if the message is delivered by a fully empowered fire agency, like the SJFD.

South and east facing slopes – as described, these slopes are dominated by annual grasses. As proven during recent fire, a proper fuel modification area around the exposed side(s) of residences will provide Defensible Space and will minimize the possibility of a grass fire impinging on a residence. As such, minimum 100 foot fuel modification areas shall be established and maintained around all structures within the project area. Home-owner education will be a critical component to the success of this recommendation.

Roadway buffers – park maintenance crews will need to regularly provide roadway buffer maintenance. Maintenance will include mowing grass, where feasible, along both edges of roadways to a distance of at least 10 feet and up to 20 feet, where possible. In addition, shrubs may require removal in entirety or height reduction to provide both horizontal and vertical separation. Dead and dying debris and litter shall also be removed within the fuel modification areas.

b. Southern East Foothills

Fuel Reduction in the southern East Foothills will include similar projects as within Alum Rock Park. Fuel modification areas on all exposed sides of structures and residences will require establishment and maintenance. Roadway buffer areas shall also be required and will include mowing to a maximum width that is feasible, but at least 10 feet on both road shoulder edges and shrub and tree maintenance to create horizontal and vertical spacing. Utility line clearance must be enforced diligently to minimize the likelihood of fire starts.

2. Structural Ignitability Reduction

Short of requiring homeowner’s to renovate their homes to meet current building standards, there is little that can be done to improve the ignition resistance of dated, existing homes. However,

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structural ignitability occurs through convective heat, radiant heat and wind transported burning embers (firebrands). The occurrence of these forms of structural ignition can be reduced significantly by modifying the vegetation and landscape components that would promote intense heat onto or near the structure. Therefore, the focus of this CWPP is to modify the fuels and other landscape features to substantially reduce the intensity of advancing flames. The following discussion provides background on the types of heat transfer.

Structural ignitions from wildland fires come from three sources of heat transfer: flame radiation, flame impingement (convection), and wind transported burning embers (firebrands).

a. Radiant Heat

Radiant heat is the indirect heat from a flame. Structures will combust from the transfer of this radiant heat. It is important to determine a suitable distance between homes and adjacent combustible fuels. Three different approaches to determining the width requirements are presented herein. All three approaches are widely accepted by fire agencies and scientific researchers. Since many of the East Foothills WUI areas are characterized by steep terrain, slope or wind will be the primary fire drivers. In most cases, the percent slope will determine the Defensible Space distance.

The first method reviewed for determining the Defensible Space for structures is a model developed by U.S. Forest Service research scientists in Montana. The model is called the Structure Ignition Assessment Model (SIAM). Results indicate that structure ignitions from radiant heat occur from wildfires within a short distance from the home. That is, “a fuel modification program beyond some relatively short distance from the home (depending on vegetation and topography) has no significant benefit for reducing radiant heat ignitions. The structure and its immediate surroundings should be the focus for activities to improve ignition risk.”85

The study suggests that, as a rule-of-thumb, larger flame lengths and widths require wider fuel modification zones to reduce structure ignition. For example, valid SIAM results indicate that a 20-foot high x 16-foot wide flame has minimal radiant heat to ignite a structure beyond 33 feet (horizontal distance). Whereas, a 70-foot high x 100-foot wide flame requires about 130 feet of clearance to prevent structure ignitions from radiant heat.86 Any obstacles, including steep terrain and non-combustible fences can block all or part of the radiation, thus making fuel modification distances even narrower. By contrast, a wildfire on a steep slope downhill from a structure can possibly radiate its entire flame area on the structure.

The second method evaluated is the 2003 Urban-Wildland Interface Code, prepared by the International Fire Code Institute (IFCI). The code was developed to assist in the mitigation of fire

85 Cohen, Jack D., Structure Ignition Assessment Model (SIAM), In: Proceedings of the Biswell Symposium: Fire Issues and Solutions in the Urban Interface and Wildland Ecosystems; 1994 February 15-17; Walnut Creek, CA Gen. Tech. Report. PSW-GTR-158, Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; pp. 85-92, 1995. http://www.firelab.org/old/fbp/fbppubs/fbppdf/cohen/biswellsymp.pdf 86 Cohen, Jack D. and Bret W. Butler, Modeling Potential Structure Ignitions from Flame Radiation Exposure with Implications for Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Management, A paper presented at the 13th Conference on Fire and Meteorology, Lorne, Victoria, Australia, October 1996. http://www.firelab.org/fbp/fbppubs/fbppdf/cohen/modelingpotential.pdf

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hazards in the urban-wildland interface. This code stands as a comprehensive document that varies construction requirements based on the exposure presented. The intended uses of the provisions are independent of the locally adopted building and fire codes.

A provision for fuel modification is provided in Chapter 6 of the code. This provision is intended to modify fuel load in areas adjacent to structures to create Defensible Space. The IFCI has defined three levels of hazard: moderate, high and extreme. Each hazard has been assigned a fuel modification distance. For example, an extreme hazard requires a 100-foot wide fuel modification area (Table IV-1). The modification distance is measured along the grade from the perimeter of projection of the building or structure. The fuel modification widths, or Defensible Space distances, based on the 2003 WUI code requires no more than 100 feet. Based on the BEHAVE outputs for Eat Foothills, 100 feet may not be adequate for some areas within the WUI.

Table IV-1: Required Defensible Space Wildland-Urban Fuel Modification Interface Area Distance (ft.) Moderate Hazard 30 High Hazard 100 Extreme Hazard 100

If this approach were used, all of the fuel modification areas around the perimeter would be no more than 100 feet wide. In many situations, a 100-foot wide distance would not be adequate for slope and fuel types found within East Foothills areas.

The third approach assessed was determining defensible distance using methods presented in the Defensible Space and Healthy Forest Handbook. This guide was originally designed for use in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada but can be applied locally in some instances. For example, it is applicable within City WUI areas due to the rugged terrain and similarity of fuel characteristics in these conditions. This method bases the Defensible Space primarily on steepness of slope.

The downhill distance is of particular importance in creating a Defensible Space. Appropriate Defensible Space distances, according to this guidebook, are presented in Table IV-2. Defensible Space distances are dependent on percent slope and location (i.e., upslope or downslope). Slope is one of the primary contributing factors to fire intensity. The priority areas of the East Foothills are comprised of steep slopes downhill from ridgetop homes. As such, distances may need to be greater than 100 feet in some areas. It is recommended that a fuel modification zone be patterned after the recommendations in Table IV-2, wherever possible. As displayed, this method requires the largest modification zone of the three sources we have examined. Several fire agencies with jurisdictions along the urban-wildland interface currently utilize this approach with favorable results. Implementation of these FMZ distances may have substantial implications on preserve areas, especially in the interior, intermix areas. Therefore, instead of applying these to all areas, a lot by lot analysis is recommended so individual site conditions can dictate where precisely the extended (beyond 100-feet) distances are necessary.

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Table IV-2: Recommended Defensible Space Distances* Distance from Structure Percent Slope Uphill** Sides** Downhill** Level to 20% 100 feet 100 feet 100 feet 21% to 40% 150 feet 150 feet 200 feet 41% to 60% 200 feet 200 feet 400 feet *This Defensible Space distance chart is applied to a contiguous open space covered with native vegetation. **Refers to the direction of slope from the house.

b. Convective Heat

Convective heat, by definition and unlike radiant heat, transfers heat and potentially fire, from the flame contacting a structure. 87 When homes are built too close to the edge of a ridge top or graded slope, flames from a fire moving up that natural or manufactured slope may contact the structure. To minimize flame contact on a home, a structure setback distance can be determined by evaluating each structure with respect to its exterior eaves height and an imaginary “line” representing the extension of the slope as shown in Figure IV-1.

The gentler the slope, the greater the need for increased structural setback distances. For example, if the building pad is adjacent to a very steep slope (70%) and a two-story home is approximately 20 feet in height, a minimum structural setback of 30-feet from the edge of the slope may be required to minimize structure ignition. In areas where existing development does not allow suitable setbacks, additional fire protection measures should be implemented. Please note that no lot-by-lot analysis was included in the scope of work for this CWPP, but is recommended for later phases of this hazard reduction project.

Imaginary slope line

Structure Slope (Natural vegetation)

Figure IV-1: Structure Setback Using Slope, Eaves Height, and Imaginary Slope Line

87 Cohen, Jack D. and Bret W. Butler, Modeling Potential Structure Ignitions from Flame Radiation Exposure with Implications for Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Management, A paper presented at the 13th Conference on Fire and Meteorology, Lorne, Victoria, Australia, October 1996. http://www.firelab.org/fbp/fbppubs/fbppdf/cohen/modelingpotential.pdf

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c. Firebrands

A firebrand, by definition, is any source of heat such as flaming or glowing fuel particles that can be carried naturally by wind, convection currents, or by gravity into unburned fuels. Under conditions of high fire intensity and strong winds, firebrands can be transported over long distances well beyond the “defensible” space. Firebrands have been observed to travel hundreds of feet and up to several miles in front of the leading edge or “head” of a wildfire. Firebrands can ignite vegetation or structures when prolonged contact with combustible material occurs. For example, firebrands entering homes through open windows or vents may ignite combustible material resulting in a structure fire.

3. Fuel Management Recommendations

The results of the fire behavior models and site evaluations of the East Foothills reveal a vegetative fuel complex capable of promoting wildfire spread between wildland vegetation and adjacent structures or vice-versa. Based on the proximity of structures to open-space, wildland areas that are not currently maintained for fuel reduction purposes, the potential exists for structural ignition through direct flame impingement or through spotting under off-shore wind conditions, from wildfires burning to the east of the East Foothills area. As such, it is recommended that a minimum 100 foot Defensible Space around all exposed structures be implemented in the East Foothills.

The following descriptions of vegetation treatment/hazard reduction tasks are provided as guidelines for fuel reduction efforts within the East Foothills Hazard Reduction Areas (HRA). The HRA is defined as the area of land within 100 feet (horizontal distance) of existing structures that abut non-maintained open space areas adjacent to structures in the East Foothills of Santa Clara County. The intent of these descriptions is to detail vegetation treatment actions aimed at reducing fire spread rates and heat intensity, while providing Defensible Space for fire suppression efforts. Although these treatment descriptions are aimed at reducing current fuel volumes and creating both vertical and horizontal separation between vegetation groups, long-term maintenance of the landscape within the HRA should adhere to the vegetation spacing, fuel volume reduction, and vegetation clearance recommendations contained herein. Finally, these fuel reduction techniques shall be conducted annually during the spring in order to avoid the development of hazardous conditions over time. x Vegetation thinning. Thinning of vegetation within the HRA involves an overall reduction of woody biomass to break up horizontally and vertically continuous fuels. Thinning efforts shall reduce overall vegetation by 30 to 50% based on the distance from structures. Heavier thinning (50%) should be conducted in areas within the first 30 feet (horizontal) from existing structures, while lighter thinning (30%) should be conducted in areas between 30 and 100 feet (horizontal) from existing structures. Site specific conditions will dictate thinning percentages in relation to structures and will be heavily dependent on topography, vegetation type, and building construction characteristics. In cases where shrubs and/or trees require removal, root systems shall be left intact to maintain slope stability. In such cases, annual treatment of stump growth or re-sprouting will be required to maintain reduced fuel load volumes.

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x Dead and dying plant removal. Removal of dead and dying plant material from the HRA will help reduce low fuel moisture biomass. This practice should also be conducted in combination with vegetation thinning efforts and may help reach or completely satisfy thinning objectives in some areas. x Exotic/invasive plant removal. Removal of non-native and invasive plants from the Defensible Space zone will help reduce the presence of undesirable species and enhance thinning efforts aimed at reducing overall biomass levels. In some areas, removal of exotic species may be all that is required to meet thinning objectives. Undesirable exotic species observed throughout the East Foothills HRA include, but are not limited to: fan palms (Washingtonia spp.), eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus spp.), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthefolius), California pepper (Schinus molle), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and mustard (Brassica spp.), amongst others. Many of these species plants have been planted by residents within the HRA, or have opportunistically established from residents’ property. See Attachment E for more information on fire resistant and undesirable plants. x Tree and shrub pruning. Trees or large tree-form shrubs (reaching 4 feet or taller at maturity) that are to be retained in the HRA space zones should be trimmed or pruned to reduce both vertical and horizontal fuel continuity: Vertical separation. Pruning of vegetation off the ground should provide vertical clearance that measures 3 times the height of the understory vegetation or 10 feet, whichever is higher. Vertical separation serves to minimize the potential for a ground fire to transition to a crown fire. This process will remove ladder fuels and reduce the potential for fire spread from lower shrubs to higher trees and structures. Horizontal separation. Pruning of vegetation shall result in horizontal clearance that measures three times the height of the plant material height or 20 feet, whichever is greater. Horizontal separation serves to minimize fire spread between plants or plant groups. Horizontal chains of fuel occur in numerous areas throughout the HRA and effectively link the interface with non-maintained wildland areas prone to wildfire. The intent of the horizontal separation criteria contained herein is to break the continuity of vegetation between structures and wildland areas. x Vegetation grouping. Maintaining groups of shrubs is recommended to provide a mosaic pattern in the landscape. However, shrub groups should be separated from other shrub groups according to the horizontal separation criteria discussed previously. x Mowing. Mowing of native grasses, non-native grasses, and exotic weeds in the HRA should be conducted to maintain grass heights at 8 inches or lower. x Chipping. Chipping and spreading of existing dead biomass or that resulting from fuel reduction efforts within the HRA is an effective method for weed suppression. However, chip or mulch depth should not exceed 6 inches. x Goats/sheep. Browsing livestock have proven to be an effective method for reducing fuel volumes in wildland-urban interface areas. Management, maintenance, and public safety issues should be considered prior to use.

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x Vegetation clearance from structures: All vegetation should be trimmed such that a clearance of 10 feet exists between structures and exposed wildland vegetation. In cases where vegetation is planted within 10 feet of a structure (vines, shrubs), such vegetation should be maintained free of dead material and shall be pruned and maintained to reduce overall fuel volume. Reducing fuel within 10 feet of structures limits the potential for direct flame impingement. In cases where tree canopies extend over roof tops, 10 feet of clearance should be maintained between the roof and the lowest tree branch extending over the structure. Firewood or other combustible debris should not be stored within 15 feet of existing structures. All combustible material, including tree leaves, pine needles, branches, and twigs should be removed from roofs and rain gutters. All vegetation should be trimmed such that a clearance of 10 feet exists in all directions between landscape vegetation and the outlet of a chimney. All vegetation should be trimmed such that a 10 foot wide clearance exists along both sides of a structure, from the street to the rear of the property to promote firefighter ingress/egress. In cases where property setback widths are less than 10 feet, the entire width should be maintained free of obstructing vegetation.

4. Structural Ignitability Reduction Strategy

A progressive process typically occurs as a building is exposed to a wildland-urban fire. First, ashes are cast in front of a fire by its smoke or convection column. In some instances, these ashes retain enough heat and/or flame that secondary ignitions are possible. Following the lighter ash, heavier embers with more surface area and mass, and consequently, more heat, are blown in front of advancing flames and often provide sources of additional ignition to structures and vegetation. Finally, intrusion of a flame front and the associated radiant heat flux can expose combustibles outside of a building and the exterior structure of a building to various levels of radiant heat.

Studies reveal that the actual exposure of a building to a typical wildland flame front by the perimeter of a fire is usually less than six minutes duration as the flame front passes by the building. However, exposure to the other forms of ignition source materials can result in proliferation of secondary ignitions of structures or adjacent vegetation and a longer exposure, depending on wind, topography and fuel conditions.

Figure IV-2- Figure IV-4 below illustrate the three minute sequence of an advancing flame front.88

88 Photos from the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District and CDF provided by Dudek

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Figure IV-2: Flame Front Advances Toward the Road on 10/28/03, 2:22 PM

Figure IV-3: Flame Front Figure IV-4: Flame Front Has Crossed the Crossing the Road at 2:23 PM Road in Three Minutes at 2:25 PM

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To enhance structural survivability, the primary focus must include, first, providing sufficient measures to prevent the ignition of structural materials from objects (fire brands) that are cast in front of the fire and, second, reducing the likelihood that direct impingement will occur and preventing flames from penetrating into the building and resulting in an interior fire. There are considerable problems in achieving these objectives without the benefit of new construction subject to the latest fire prevention codes.

All forms of fire protection are classified as either active or passive. Active fire protection includes implementing specific action to control a fire in some manner. Passive fire protection uses resistance to ignition or provides some form of warning that allows other action to be taken. These two classifications of self-defense mechanisms create different problems with regard to being accepted as alternatives for building construction. Furthermore, certain self-defense mechanisms must be built in during new construction, and others may only be capable of being added as a retrofit to existing structures. In the absence of fire resistive construction, the focus for reducing structural ignitability shifts to landscaping and fuel treatment areas.

Many of the residential structures within the East Foothills Area are not constructed to current codes, which have been implemented statewide and are based on intelligence gained from large wildfire events that included structure loss. It is not realistic to retrofit existing homes with enhanced ignition resistant construction, although the existing code can trigger upgrades to current code requirements for certain home additions. A partial list of inexpensive strategies that may be implemented by property owners include proactive steps such as providing protection for windows, installing non-combustible shutters that can be closed before relocation from the site, removing highly combustible curtains or furniture from window openings, upgrading exterior doors to ignition resistant standards, ensuring attic and crawl space ventilation openings are properly fitted with ¼ inch wire mesh, ensuring spark arrestors are property placed over chimneys, enclosing decks or other open areas under homes with non-combustible skirting, and caulking or filling (with non- combustible material) all openings or gaps in siding and roofing.

Based on the type of development in the East Foothills, the existing fuels and terrain, structural ignition reduction will primarily be realized through implementation of fuel modification as described in this CWPP. Residential structures and other combustible structures within the WUI areas of the East Foothills will require fuel modification areas incorporating design that includes irrigated, low growing, non- combustible vegetation in the nearest 30 feet from structures, eliminates combustible vegetation and reduced fuel volume in the next 70 feet with heavier thinning the closer to the structure. The previous section in this CWPP provides more specific details and vegetation treatment techniques for HRA fuel reduction recommendations.

E. Action Plan and Assessment Strategy

1. Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project Identification

As noted in Section I.A.5, the specific objectives for this CWPP included: x Encourage and enable East Foothills property owners and residents to create and maintain Defensible Space around their homes and neighborhoods

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x Identity fuel reduction projects that can be completed through stakeholder and community cooperation without federal grants x Identity fuel reduction projects that require federal grants or other funding sources

Identification of potential plans and projects was an integral part of the field surveys for this CWPP. In particular, a systematic attempt was made to identify projects and other ways to address each of the high and medium priority problem areas identified above in Section III.A.3.

The following general and specific high and medium priority projects were identified during this process. Project identification and implementation is an on-going process and additional projects will be added as needed. If you would like to suggest projects for this CWPP area, please e-mail Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

a. General Projects

x Community Outreach and Education – Information and education to educate and enable property owners and residents to create Defensible Space around their homes and communities. The most important recommendations include: - Replace wood shake roofs with Class A roofs – This alone may save your home - Create at least 100 feet of Defensible Space around homes - Utilize knowledgeable contractors who follow industry standards for vegetation thinning - Ensure that house numbers are easily visible from the street (both day and night) - Call local utilities, especially electric companies, to clear branches around utility lines - Contact your local fire agency for specifics for your area or property (see Page ix for Contact Information). Utilize the user-friendly information available from your local fire agency, the CDF, SCFSC, FireWise, and other sources to protect your home and community.

Community Outreach and Education to educate and enable property owners and residents to create Defensible Space around their homes and communities is our most important project because: - Neither federal nor local funding is available to address all of the problem areas. - Property owners are ultimately responsible for their own properties and their cooperation is needed for any funded projects to be effective. - Community Outreach and Education is the most leveraged and effective use of funds and time for both the local fire agencies and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. - Community Outreach and Education also helps to educate visitors and others to help prevent wildfires in high fire danger areas. For example, if vacationers and visitors understand the fire danger and that extinguishing campfires and not using fireworks are important, they are less likely to engage in activities that cause wildfires.

x Chipping Program – SCFSC has been selected for a relatively small 2007 grant from the Bureau of Land Management to start a chipping program for this CWPP area. If this grant is fully funded, it will be enough to pay for perhaps ten small projects where homeowners have

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prepared the material to be chipped and five projects where SCFSC pays a contractor to help prepare the material to be chipped (for disabled and low income seniors, etc.). The federal funding should be about $33,000 and we will also try to raise money locally so the total is about $40,000. This will be a pilot project to build our capability to manage chipping programs. We hope we can expand to other areas of the County later if more grants are available for chipping programs.

b. High Priority Projects

The High Priority projects listed in Attachment F support the High Priority plans from the field surveys in Attachment D (see Section III.A.3).

c. Medium Priority Projects

The Medium Priority projects listed in Attachment F support the Medium Priority plans from the field surveys in Attachment D (see Section III.A.3).

2. Hazardous Fuel Reduction Project Implementation

The Hazardous Fuel Reduction projects identified above can be implemented in several different ways depending on the project and project management and funding requirements. For example: 1. SCFSC will continue our Community Outreach and Education programs and use the information from this CWPP to target our programs and educate property owners about specific high fire danger areas in their communities. As noted above, Community Outreach and Education is the most leveraged and effective use of funds and time for both the local fire agencies and SCFSC. 2. Some fuel reduction projects which do not require any federal funding, such as the basic annual maintenance of the Crothers Road Fuel Break, will continue as long as the Facilities Supervisor for Alum Rock Park and other nearby SCFSC participants continue to organize and manage this project. We hope to increase the width and area covered by this fuel break each year. We plan to organize a number of the smaller projects above in a similar manner, which is the fastest and most efficient way to implement smaller project where large amounts of local or federal funding are not required. 3. We anticipate that if the Chipping Program described above (Section IV.E.1) will start early in 2007. We hope that the experience during the first year of this program will lead to continued local support and the local and federal funding needed to continue this program on a long term basis. 4. Grants will be pursued for larger projects where federal funding is required. For example, the California Fire Safe Council requests Concept Paper annually for their Grants Clearinghouse for federal grants from the Bureau of Land Management and other federal wildfire prevention grant programs. Concept Papers submitted in early 2007 may be chosen for funding in late 2007 or early 2008.

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3. SCFSC Funding

SCFSC does not break out expenditures for East Foothills or other geographic areas of Santa Clara County but the following will help identify the anticipated 2007 funding for our projects and programs.

a. Community Outreach and Education

SCFSC spent about $29,600 on Community Outreach and Education programs in calendar 2005 and about $64,100 on these programs in 2006. This very significant increase for these programs was made possible by a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security, Assistance to Firefighters Fire Prevention and Safety Grant.

For 2007, funding from the DHS grant and local sources is projected to provide about $31,700 for these programs and funding from the hazardous fuel reduction grants (there is a second grant for other parts of the County similar to the East Foothills chipping grant discussed above) should provide about $17,100. Thus the total for Community Outreach and Education programs in calendar 2007 is anticipated to be about $48,800. This is, of course, a significant decrease from 2006.

There are now 14 Communities at Risk from wildfires on the federal and California Fire Alliance lists of Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County89 and only a portion of the funding received by SCFSC will be used for the East Foothills area which covers the East Foothills Community at Risk and part of San Jose.

b. Hazardous Fuel Reduction

The East Foothills Chipping Program discussed above and the similar program for other parts of the County, and their associated local matching funding, will provide a total of about $111,600 starting in late 2006 and ending in mid-2008.

Of this total, approximately $23,500 is allocated for Community Outreach and Education (COE) and about $88,100 is for starting and implementing the Hazardous Fuel Reduction Chipping Programs. This is a significant amount, especially for a startup program, but it is only a small part of what is needed for the County. Both the local fire agencies and SCFSC need to conduct more Community Outreach and Education because it is the most leveraged and effective use of our funds and time.

Our current (early 2007) forecast for expenses from these two Chipping Program Grants is shown in Table IV-3.

89 See http://www.cafirealliance.org/communities_at_risk/communities_at_risk_list. Filter the results by County Name and Search for Santa Clara to see the Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County.

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Table IV-3: Forecast SCFSC Hazardous Fuel Reduction Expenses Chipping Related Year Comments Programs COE 2006 $1,500 $0 Planning and Other Startup Expenses 2007 $60,100 $17,100 Startup, Chipping and Related COE 2008 $26,500 $6,400 Chipping and Related COE, Program Evaluation Total $88,100 $23,500

While we would like to do more Hazardous Fuel Reduction activities in 2007 than these two Chipping Programs, it is unrealistic to anticipate that we can manage more activities, especially during a startup year for these two projects. Also, we do not expect to receive any more federal funding for 2007 since the next federal grant applications are for 2008 funding.

c. Hazardous Fuel Assessment and Strategy

SCFSC spent about $24,100 on the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans during late 2005 and 2006 and expects to spend about $13,200 in 2007 to complete our current grant. We do not have any additional grants for this activity. The two Community Wildfire Protection Plans we are developing under this grant cover all or parts of five Communities at Risk from wildfires in Santa Clara County. As noted above, there are 14 Communities at Risk in the County and we hope to obtain additional funding for these activities in future years.

4. Timeline

Smaller projects which do not require federal funding will be implemented starting in 2007 (some work started on this in 2006 during the development of the Community Wildfire Protection Plans). Our primary activities in 2007 will be the Chipping Programs and Community Outreach and Education as described above. Other projects will be addressed starting in 2008 as funding is available.

5. Funding Requirements

The funding requirements for the projects identified in this CWPP are being investigated and a complete estimate is not yet available. As noted above, project identification and implementation is an on-going process and additional projects will be added as needed.

6. Contractor Specifications and Bid Package Preparation

Contractor Specifications and Bid Package Preparation and related subjects, including environmental concerns, monitoring contractor progress and final inspections, will be addressed for the larger projects in 2007 and 2008. This material is not required to complete this Community Wildfire Protection Plan. In general, environmental issues are not a significant concern for most of these projects because they do not involve work in biologically sensitive areas such as the area near Penitencia Creek in Alum Rock Park.

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7. Importance of Long-term Maintenance

Long-term, annual maintenance is essential for any Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program because the maintenance cost is almost always much less than the initial fuel reduction cost. For example, a significant amount of state grant funding was used for the first year of the Crothers Road Fuel Break even though some fuel reduction work had been done in this area previously. Annual maintenance is handled as on ongoing activity by SCFSC participants in that area and is not a significant expense. If this annual maintenance was not completed, the biomass and fire danger would increase and, within a few years, another project similar to the initial project would be required.

Just as long-term maintenance is essential for any Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program, long-term maintenance is also essential for this Community Wildfire Protection Plan. SCFSC plans to update this plan annually with fuel reduction progress, new observations and threats, and new projects to address problem areas.

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V. Conclusions and Next Steps

A. Conclusions

A Community Wildfire Protection Plan has been developed for the East Foothills area east of San Jose. This area includes East Foothills and parts of San Jose, which are communities on the California Fire Alliance list of Communities at Risk from wildfire. Most of the area covered by the East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the San Jose Fire Department (SJFD) coverage area. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) provides support in SJFD’s jurisdiction in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas. In unincorporated Santa Clara County areas, SJFD provides first responder fire and medical coverage under contract to Santa Clara County.

This Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) was prepared following the California Fire Alliance CWPP Planning Process and meets the general objectives for CWPPs as well as the specific objectives established for this CWPP (see Section I.A.5). The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council would like to acknowledge the assistance and participation of many organizations, companies and people in preparing this CWPP as summarized in Section I.A.8.

Six field survey trips were made and eight reports and 20 field survey forms were compiled for the East Foothills CWPP area (see Section II.G.5 and Table II-2).

The conclusions of this CWPP include: x The fire history data emphasize the potential risk for these urban interface areas (areas where at least one side faces wildlands) and intermix areas (areas encompassed by wildlands), especially when considering the continually increasing possibility for human- caused ignitions. Overall, there were 37 documented fires for which data was available, ranging in size from 4 to 1,000 acres and burning in grass, sage-scrub, and chaparral (see Section II.G.7). x Based on existing vegetation, topography, and typical weather conditions for East Foothills, the area is considered vulnerable to wildfire. The proximity of open space to residential structures and to scenic roadways increases the likelihood of anthropogenic (i.e., caused by human activity) ignition from discarded cigarettes, automobiles, fireworks, and electrical transmission lines, etc. Additionally, the potential for spotting (burning embers entering or blowing into unburned vegetation) is high during dry, north and northeast wind- driven conflagrations (see Section II.G.8). x Alum Rock Park’s north-facing slopes provide a good example of where the existence of small, flashy fuels beneath shrubs and trees, especially in the interface areas, increases the potential for vertical fire spread. The presence of ladder fuels and other highly combustible vegetation, specifically pepper trees and eucalyptus, pines, palms and other non-native trees near interface and intermix residential structures, increases the potential for canopy fire and structural ignition (see Section II.G.8). x The fuel reduction recommendations presented herein are part of an overall vegetation management program designed to reduce the continuity of fuels that could promote fire Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 94 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

spread from open space areas into adjacent residential and developed areas (see Section II.G.8). x The San Jose Fire Department and CDF have very significant capabilities to fight and control wildland fires in this area. SJFD utilizes an effective “Tier” response plan (see Section II.H). Mutual aid from nearby fire departments is available when needed (see Sections II.H.3 and II.H.4). Increased fuel levels due to wet spring weather and quickly controlled wildfires have led to increased fuel accumulations and high fire danger conditions in many areas (see Section III.A.2).

x The two most important results of the field surveys are: 1) More than adequate field observations and surveys were completed to support the fire behavior models, and 2) A number of large and small projects were identified which will reduce the potential risk of wildfires in various areas (see Section III.A.3 and Attachment F).

x Two separate fire hazard assessments were conducted in the preparation of this CWPP: a Geographic Information System (GIS)-generated fire hazard overlay map and an assessment of potential fire behavior and intensity using BehavePlus software (see Sections III.B and III.C).

x The risk assessment points to fires in the WUI as representing the highest risk to residents and their property. WUI area fires include wildland fire in the direct vicinity of interface or intermix residences and other structures. Fires in these areas have the potential to move from wildland fuels into urban fuels such as landscape plantings, outbuildings, decks, and homes. Likewise, structural fires have the potential to escape into wildland areas due to the continuous fuels from structure to landscape to wildland. Fires in these areas also create risks during evacuations in emergency situations. This CWPP focuses on the WUI areas and identifies the specific priority areas of the East Foothills WUI (see Section IV.B).

x Recommendations are provided to reduce hazards within the East Foothills priority WUI areas. These recommendations are based on known procedures that are specifically implemented to reduce fuel loading, break up fuel continuity, and reduce the likelihood that fire will affect valuable resources, either from wildfires reaching residences or from residential fires escaping into wildland areas (see Section IV.D).

x Many of the residential structures within the East Foothills Area are not constructed to current codes, which have been implemented statewide and are based on intelligence gained from large wildfire events that included structure loss. It is not realistic to retrofit existing homes with enhanced ignition resistant construction, although the existing code can trigger upgrades to current code requirements for certain home additions. Based on the type of development in the East Foothills, the existing fuels and terrain, structural ignition

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reduction will primarily be realized through implementation of fuel modification as described in this CWPP. Residential structures and other combustible structures within the WUI areas of the East Foothills will require fuel modification areas incorporating design that includes irrigated, low growing, non- combustible vegetation in the nearest 30 feet from structures, eliminates combustible vegetation and reduced fuel volume in the next 70 feet with heavier thinning the closer to the structure (see Section IV.D.4).

x General and specific high and medium priority projects were identified during this CWPP development process (see Section IV.E.1 and Attachment F.).

x Community Outreach and Education programs to educate and enable property owners and residents to create Defensible Space around their homes and communities is the most important and effective Santa Clara County FireSafe Council activity (see Section IV.E.1).

x There are now 14 Communities at Risk from wildfires on the federal and California Fire Alliance lists of Communities at Risk in Santa Clara County and only a portion of the funding received by SCFSC will be used for the East Foothills area which covers the East Foothills Community at Risk and part of San Jose (see Section IV.E.3).

x Smaller projects which do not require federal funding will be implemented starting in 2007 (some work started on this in 2006 during the development of the Community Wildfire Protection Plans). Our primary activities in 2007 will be the Chipping Program and Community Outreach and Education as described above. Other projects will be addressed starting in 2008 as funding is available (see Section IV.E.4).

x Long-term, annual maintenance is essential for any Hazardous Fuel Reduction Program because the maintenance cost is almost always much less than the initial fuel reduction cost. If this annual maintenance is not completed, the biomass and fire danger will increase and, within a few years, another project similar to the initial project will be required (see Section IV.E.7).

B. Next Steps

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x Large Public and Private Property Owners (including Cities, County, Open Space Authorities, Parks, Utilities and other Companies): Follow the homeowner recommendations above and other guidelines to create Defensible Space around homes and other buildings and structures. Support and assist the fire agencies, SCFSC and others with their public outreach wildfire prevention and other programs. Continue to support Wildfire Awareness Week, which is sponsored by the CDF and the California Fire Safe Council, and supported locally by the fire agencies and the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council, each spring at the start of fire season. Consider making local matching grants and contributions to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council to enable the council to secure more federal grants for Santa Clara County.

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C. CWPP Finalization

This CWPP will be finalized following reviews by the participants, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council Officers and Directors and the stakeholders and decision makers. Comments and suggestions from these sources, as well as comments and suggestions from the public, will be integrated into the final version.

Community participation is also essential for this CWPP and future fuel reduction projects. Please e-mail any comments to Allan Thompson at [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 98 DUDEK East Foothills Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Photos provided by Dudek Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 99 DUDEK

Attachment A

San Jose Fire Department SPECIAL BULLETIN/PROCEDURAL#273

TO: ALL PERSONNEL FROM: Dana Reed, Deputy Chief Nicolas Thomas, Deputy Chief Jim Carter, Deputy Chief Bureau of Field Operations SUBJECT: WILDLAND FIRE PREVENTION DATE: May 19, 2006 AND RESPONSE READINESS DISPOSITION: Retain and post at the worksite until November 30, 2006, then discard.

ACTION: Companies will initiate the Wildland Fire Prevention Program for 2006 as described herein.

INTRODUCTION Wildland Fire Prevention and Response Readiness will focus on public education and Fire Company familiarization with the hazards that exist in their response areas. Fire Companies will use this time to educate the public regarding wildland fire hazards, and update all pre-fire plans and maps of wildland areas in accordance with established procedures.

San Jose Fire will be enforcing Chapter 9.12 (Weeds, Rubbish and Other Matters) of Title 9 of the San Jose Municipal Code (attached), with reference to State of California Resources Code 4291 (attached), requiring a 100-foot clearance of flammable vegetation around structures in very high fire danger severity zones (VHFDSZ). Currently, CDF does not have any area within the San Jose Fire Department Local Area Responsibility or State Response Area in the Santa Clara County that is considered VHFDSZ. However, it is the recommendation of SJFD that property owners should extend vegetation clearance to 100-foot around structures when possible, even if they are not situated in a very high fire danger severity zone. During the Southern California fires of 2003, it was proven that in many cases 30-foot clearance was not sufficient in preventing fire spread, or enough clearance in protecting homes.

The key to the success of the Department's prevention and response readiness efforts will be high visibility of our Fire Companies and personal contact with property owners and residents. In summary, the following objectives will be accomplished:

x Afford companies the opportunity to physically survey wildland areas x Identify parcels that are not in compliance with provisions of the SJMC x Gain compliance in order to reduce potential fire loss and injury x Generate public support for our efforts through personal contact and educational handouts x Update wildland maps and pre-fire plans

IMPLEMENTATION

I. Line personnel will contact each occupant within their wildland area and distribute informational handout “Living with Fire in Santa Clara County”. Personnel will explain the value of complying with the provisions of the SJMC. If no one is home, the handout will be left at the dwelling for the occupant. Handout “Living with Fire in Santa Clara County” is available at the Battalion Headquarters.

2. If a developed or occupied parcel is not in compliance, issue a Record of Fire Inspection form identifying the hazards.

Special Bulletin/Procedural #273 May 19, 2006 Page 2

3. The company issuing the Record of Fire Inspection form will return in approximately two weeks (15 days) to re-inspect. If the hazard has been abated, initial the form, and maintain a copy in the Station files. If the hazard has not been abated after three re-inspections, forward the inspection form to CA Jose Guerrero, BFO Wildland Officer, who in turn will bring the violation to the attention of the City of San Jose Code Enforcement.

4. When a company deems a parcel to be in need of abatement efforts, the determination of the ownership of the parcel is most important. Before you can refer a parcel for action, you must know who the responsible agency is. If a Company Officer has questions as to the ownership of a parcel, he or she should contact the County Assessor’s Office at (408) 299-5500. The Assessor’s Office will be able to reveal the parcel’s ownership. The Company Officer can refer the parcel to the proper authority.

IMPLEMENTATION

x Vacant parcels: Santa Clara County Weed Abatement, 408-282-3145 x Parcels with buildings: Contact City Code Enforcement Complaint Desk, 408-277-4528 x City-owned medians; islands – Thomas Ferguson, Department of Traffic, 408-277-3056 x Creeks and rivers – Mark Wander, Santa Clara County Water District, Vegetation

Management Unit, 408-265-2607, x3851 x Freeway right-of-way: Dave Nelson, Cal-Trans, 408-452-7122 x City-owned properties – GSA Asset Management, 408-938-2060

Should the hazard consist of excessive trash, appliances, furniture, vehicles, or vegetation, Code Enforcement (277-4528) can be used for abatement of the hazards. Record of Fire Inspection forms and agency referrals should be retained on file at each station for reference.

PUBLIC EDUCATION The public education effort will include handing out educational materials and making personal contact with citizens living in wildland areas. The Department members shall explain to the citizens the benefits of complying with the provisions of SJMC. Educational packets have been provided to each battalion.

PRE-FIRE PLANNING Companies will make every effort to pre-fire plan the most hazardous wildland areas. Emphasis should be placed on identifying special problems, access restrictions, potential command post locations, staging areas, and water sources.

Special Bulletin/Procedural # May 19, 2006 Page 3

SUMMARY The coordinating Battalion Chiefs have the responsibility to see that this program is carried out by all shifts.

DANA REED, Deputy Chief BFO / EMS / Wildland Manager / A-Shift

NICOLAS THOMAS, Deputy Chief BFO / Special Operations / B-Shift

JIM CARTER, Deputy Chief BFO / Training Division / C-Shift

APPROVED FOR POSTING:

JEFFREY L. CLET, Fire Chief San José Fire Department

Attachment

ALL PERSONNEL SHALL READ AND INITIAL A-SHIFT B-SHIFT C-SHIFT 40-HR.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE - SECTION 51175-51189

51175. The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:

(a) Fires are extremely costly, not only to property owners and residents, but also to local agencies. Fires pose a serious threat to the preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. Since fires ignore civil boundaries, it is necessary that cities, counties, special districts, state agencies, and federal agencies work together to bring raging fires under control. Preventive measures are therefore needed to ensure the preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. (b) The prevention of fires is not a municipal affair, as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead, a matter of statewide concern. It is, the intent of the Legislature that this chapter apply to all local agencies, including, but not limited to, charter cities, charter counties, and charter cities and counties. This subdivision shall not limit the authority of a local agency to impose more restrictive fire and panic safety requirements, as otherwise authorized by law. (c) It is not the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to limit or restrict the authority of a local agency to impose more restrictive fire and panic safety requirements, as otherwise authorized by law.

51176. The purpose of this chapter is to classify lands in the state in accordance with whether a very high fire hazard is present so that public officials are able to identify measures that will retard the rate of spread, and reduce the potential intensity, of uncontrolled fires that threaten to destroy resources, life, or property, and to require that those measures be taken.

51177. As used in this chapter: (a) "Director" means the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection. (b) "Very high fire hazard severity zone" means an area designated by the director pursuant to Section 51178 that is not a state responsibility area. (c) "Local agency" means a city, county, city and county, or district responsible for fire protection within a very high fire hazard severity zone. (d) "Single specimen tree" means any live tree that stands alone in the landscape so as to be clear of buildings, structures, combustible vegetation, or other trees, and that does not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any occupied dwelling or structure. (e) "State responsibility areas" means those areas identified pursuant to Section 4102 of the Public Resources Code.

51178. (a) The director shall identify areas in the state as very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Very high fire hazard severity zones shall be based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and other relevant factors. (b) On or before January 1, 1995, the director shall identify areas as very high fire hazard severity zones in the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and Ventura. This information shall be transmitted to all local agencies with identified very high fire hazard severity zones within 30 days. (c) On or before January 1, 1996, the director shall identify areas as very high fire hazard severity zones in all other counties. This information shall be transmitted to all local agencies with identified high fire hazard severity zones within 30 days.

51178.5. Within 30 days after receiving a transmittal from the director that identifies very high fire hazard severity zones, a local agency shall make the information available for public review. The information shall be presented in a format that is understandable and accessible to the general public, including, but not limited to, maps. 51179. (a) A local agency shall designate, by ordinance, very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the director pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 51178. A local agency shall be exempt from this requirement if ordinances of the local agency, adopted on or before December 31, 1992, impose standards that are equivalent to, or more restrictive than, the standards imposed by this chapter. (b) A local agency may, at its discretion, exclude from the requirements of Section 51182 an area identified as a very high fire hazard severity zone by the director within the jurisdiction of the local agency, following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are not necessary for effective fire protection within the area. (c) A local agency may, at its discretion, include areas within the jurisdiction of the local agency, not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the director, as very high fire hazard severity zones following a finding supported by substantial evidence in the record that the requirements of Section 51182 are necessary for effective fire protection within the area. (d) Changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the director shall be final and shall not be reputable by the director. (e) The State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt a model ordinance that provides for the establishment of very high fire hazard severity zones. (f) Any ordinance adopted by a local agency pursuant to this section that substantially conforms to the model ordinance of the State Fire Marshal shall be presumed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section. (g) A local agency shall post a notice at the office of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency identifying the location of the map provided by the director pursuant to Section 51178. If the agency amends the map, pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of this section, the notice shall instead identify the location of the amended map.

51180. For the purposes of Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1, vegetation removal or management, undertaken in whole or in part, for fire prevention or suppression purposes shall not be deemed to alter the natural condition of public property. This section shall apply only to natural conditions of public property and shall not limit any liability or immunity that may otherwise exist pursuant to this chapter.

51181. The director shall periodically review the areas in the state identified as very high fire hazard severity zones pursuant to this chapter, and as necessary, shall make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones. This review shall coincide with the review of state responsibility area lands every five years and, when possible, fall within the time frames for each county's general plan update. Any revision of areas included in a very high fire hazard severity zone shall be made in accordance with Sections 51178 and 51179.

51182. (a) Any person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains any occupied dwelling or occupied structure in, upon, or adjoining any mountainous area, forest-covered land, brush-covered land, grass-covered land, or any land that is covered with flammable material, which area or land is within a very high fire hazard severity zone designated by the local agency pursuant to Section

51179, shall at all times do all of the following: (1) Maintain around and adjacent to the occupied dwelling or occupied structure a firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for a distance of not less than 30 feet on each side thereof or to the property line, whichever is nearer, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth. This

paragraph does not apply to single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery, or similar plants that are used as ground cover, if they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any dwelling or structure.

(2) Maintain around and adjacent to the occupied dwelling or occupied structure additional fire protection or firebreaks made by removing all brush, flammable vegetation, or combustible growth that is located within 100 feet from the occupied dwelling or occupied structure or to the property line, or at a greater distance if required by state law, or local ordinance, rule, or regulation. This section does not prevent an insurance company that insures an occupied dwelling or occupied structure from requiring the owner of the dwelling or structure to maintain a firebreak of more than 100 feet around the dwelling or structure if a hazardous condition warrants such a firebreak of a greater distance. Grass and other vegetation located more than 30 feet from the dwelling or structure and less than 18 inches in height above the ground may be maintained where necessary to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

(3) Remove that portion of any tree that extends within 10 feet of the outlet of any chimney or stovepipe. (4) Maintain any tree adjacent to or overhanging any building free of dead or dying wood. (5) Maintain the roof of any structure free of leaves, needles, or other dead vegetative growth. (6) Provide and maintain at all times a screen over the outlet of every chimney or stovepipe that is attached to any fireplace, stove, or other device that burns any solid or liquid fuel. The screen shall be constructed and installed in accordance with the California Building Standards Code. (7) Prior to constructing a new dwelling or structure that will be occupied or rebuilding an occupied dwelling or occupied structure damaged by a fire in such zone, the construction or rebuilding of which requires a building permit, the owner shall obtain a certification from the local building official that the dwelling or structure, as proposed to be built, complies with all applicable state and local building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of Section 51189, and shall provide a copy of the certification, upon request, to the insurer providing course of construction insurance coverage for the building or structure. Upon completion of the construction or rebuilding, the owner shall obtain from the local building official, a copy of the final inspection report that demonstrates that the dwelling or structure was constructed in compliance with all applicable state and local building standards, including those described in subdivision (b) of Section 51189, and shall provide a copy of the report, upon request, to the property insurance carrier that insures the dwelling or structure. (b) A person is not required under this section to maintain any clearing on any land if that person does not have the legal right to maintain the clearing, nor is any person required to enter upon or to damage property that is owned by any other person without the consent of the owner of the property.

51183. (a) The local agency may exempt from the standards set forth in Section 51182 structures with exteriors constructed entirely of nonflammable materials, or conditioned upon the contents and composition of the structure, and may vary the requirements respecting the removing or clearing away of flammable vegetation or other combustible growth with respect to the area surrounding the structures. In no case shall this subdivision be deemed to authorize a local agency to vary any requirement that is a building standard subject to Section 18930 of the Health and Safety Code, except as otherwise authorized by law. (b) No exemption or variance shall apply unless and until the occupant thereof, or if there be no occupant, then the owner thereof, files with the local agency a written consent to the inspection of the interior and contents of the structure to ascertain whether the provisions of Section 51182 are complied with at all times.

51183.5. (a) A transferor of real property that is located within a very high fire hazard severity zone, designated pursuant to this chapter, shall disclose to any prospective transferee the fact that the property is located within a very high fire hazard severity zone, and is subject to the requirements of Section 51182. (b) Disclosure is required pursuant to this section only when one of the following conditions is met: (1) The transferor, or the transferor's agent, has actual knowledge that the property is within a very high fire hazard severity zone.

(2) A map that includes the property has been provided to the local agency pursuant to Section 51178, and a notice is posted at the offices of the county recorder, county assessor, and county planning agency that identifies the location of the map and any information regarding changes to the map received by the local agency. (c) In all transactions that are subject to Section 1103 of the Civil Code, the disclosure required by subdivision (a) of this section shall be provided by either of the following means: (1) The Local Option Real Estate Disclosure Statement as provided in Section 1102.6a of the Civil Code. (2) The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement as provided in Section 1103.2 of the Civil Code. (d) If the map or accompanying information is not of sufficient accuracy or scale that a reasonable person can determine if the subject real property is included in a very high fire hazard zone, the transfer or shall mark "Yes" on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement. The transferor may mark "No" on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement if he or she attaches a report prepared pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1103.4 of the Civil Code that verifies the property is not in the hazard zone. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to limit or abridge any existing duty of the transferor or the transferor's agents to exercise reasonable care in making a determination under this subdivision. (e) Section 1103.13 of the Civil Code shall apply to this section. (f) The specification of items for disclosure in this section does not limit or abridge any obligation for disclosure created by any other provision of law or that may exist in order to avoid fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit in the transfer transaction.

51184. (a) Section 51182 shall not apply to any land or water area acquired or managed for one or more of the following purposes or uses: (1) Habitat for endangered or threatened species, or any species that is a candidate for listing as an endangered or threatened species by the state or federal government. (2) Lands kept in a predominantly natural state as habitat for wildlife, plant, or animal communities. (3) Open space lands that are environmentally sensitive parklands. (4) Other lands having scenic values, as declared by the local agency, or by state or federal law. (b) This exemption applies whether the land or water area is held in fee title or any lesser interest. This exemption applies to any public agency, any private entity that has dedicated the land or water areas to one or more of those purposes or uses, or any combination of public agencies and private entities making that dedication. (c) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the use of properly authorized prescribed burning to improve the biological function of land or to assist in the restoration of desired vegetation. (d) In the event that any lands adjacent to any land or water area described in subdivision (a) are improved such that they are subject to Section 51182, the obligation to comply with Section 51182 shall be with the person owning, leasing, controlling, operating, or maintaining the occupied dwelling or occupied structure on the improved lands. All maintenance activities and other fire prevention measures required by Section 51182 shall be required only for the improved lands, not the land and water areas described in subdivision (a) 51185. (a) A violation of Section 51182 is an infraction punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500). (b) If a person is convicted of a second violation of Section 51182 within five years, that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500). (c) If a person is convicted of a third violation of Section 51182 within five years, that person is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500).

51186. The local agency having jurisdiction of property upon which conditions regulated by Section 51182 are being violated shall notify the owner of the property to correct the conditions. If the owner fails to correct the conditions, the local agency may cause the corrections to be made, and the expenses incurred shall become a lien on the property that is the subject of the corrections when recorded in the county recorder's office in the county in which the real property is located. The priority of the lien shall be as of the date of recording. The lien shall contain the legal description of the real property, the assessor's parcel number, and the name of the owner of record as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll.

51187. Any violation of Section 51182 may be considered a public nuisance pursuant to Section 38773. 51188. In the instance of conflict between this chapter and any provision of state law that allows a regional planning agency to regulate very high fire hazard severity zones, this chapter shall prevail.

51189. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that space and structure defensibility is essential to effective fire prevention. This defensibility extends beyond the vegetation management practices required by this chapter, and includes, but is not limited to, measures that increase the likelihood of a structure to withstand intrusion by fire, such as building design and construction requirements that use fire resistant building materials, and provide protection of structure projections, including, but not limited to, porches, decks, balconies and eaves, and structure openings, including, but not limited to, attic and eave vents and windows. (b) No later than January 1, 2005, the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Director of Housing and Community Development, shall, pursuant to Section 18930 of the Health and Safety Code, recommend building standards that provide for comprehensive space and structure defensibility to protect structures from fires spreading from adjacent structures or vegetation and vegetation from fires spreading from adjacent structures.

SAN JOSE MUNICIPAL CODE

Chapter 9.12 WEEDS, RUBBISH AND OTHER MATTER

9.12.100 Weeds or refuse - Declared public nuisance when.

Whenever weeds are growing, or refuse is situated upon any street, parkway, sidewalk or private property, the city council may, by resolution, declare the weeds or refuse a public nuisance.

(Prior code § 3200.20.)

9.12.110 Seasonal and recurrent weeds - Declaration of public nuisance - Preventative abatement.

A. In the event that the fire chief should find noxious or dangerous weeds which are seasonal and/or recurrent nuisances situate upon any street, parkway, sidewalk or private property in the city of San José, the council of the city of San José may, by resolution, declare the seasonal and/or recurrent weeds to be a public nuisance and may authorize abatement of such seasonal and/or recurrent nuisances in accordance with this chapter.

B. The notice shall, in addition to containing all other matters required by this chapter, state that noxious or dangerous weeds of a seasonal and/or recurrent nature are growing on or in front of the property.

C. Upon the second and any subsequent occurrence of such nuisance on the same parcel or parcels within a one-year period from the date of said resolution, no further hearings need to be held and it shall be sufficient to mail a postcard notice to the owners of the property as they and their addresses appear upon the current assessment roll.

D. In the event that the city council finds and declares that weeds on a specified parcel or parcels of property are a seasonal and/or recurrent nuisance, and the city is once required to abate such nuisance, then before and during the next germinating season of such weeds, the city may provide for the preventative abatement of such nuisance by using chemical control of such weeds.

E. In the event that the city determines to provide for preventive abatement of weeds by using chemical control, the notice required by this chapter shall, in addition to containing all other required matters, state that the efficient and economical control of such seasonal and recurrent nuisance requires preventive chemical control of such weeds and that the city may require preventive chemical control of such nuisance.

(Ords. 19636, 20750.)

Attachments B-1- B-3 and C

Attachments B-1 – B-3 and C are distributed separately and can be downloaded from the links below:

Attachment B-1: “Taming Natural Disasters,” Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Multi-Jurisdictional Local Government Hazard Mitigation Plan for the San Francisco Bay Area (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/ABAG_Report.pdf) Attachment B-2: Santa Clara County Annex to Attachment B-1 (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/ABAG_Report_SCC_Annex.pdf) Attachment B-3: Santa Clara County Infrastructure Mitigation Strategies for Attachments B-1 and B-2 (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/ABAG_Report_SCC_Mitigation_Strategies.pdf) Attachment C: Santa Clara County Structural Ignitability Policies and Practices (http://www.sccfiresafe.org/CWPP/SCC_2001_CFC_Amendments.pdf)

Attachment D

East Foothills Field Assessment Results

The two most important results of the field surveys (see Section III.A.3) are: 1. More than adequate field observations and surveys were completed to support the fire behavior models. 2. A number of large and small projects were identified which will reduce the danger from wildfires in various areas. More information on these projects is in Section IV.E and Attachment F.

The field survey results and forms for each area are available. If you are interested, please e- mail [email protected] or call (408) 272-7008.

The field surveys resulted in the following high and medium priority plans (which are the last two sections of the survey form). The area numbers below correspond to the areas visited above (see Section III.A.1).

a. High Priority Plans

Area 9B – Vista Vineyards and Surrounding Open Areas Plan Contact property owner of the overgrown, fire prone field west of Vista Vineyards Priority* High for the overgrown, fire prone field west of Vista Vineyards. On 7/18 06, a local resident reported, “Have seen no activity on the lots below the vineyard although they have cleared them of weeds in past years.” * Priority for additional fuel reduction or other treatment as part of this plan

Area 9C – Poppy Lane and the surrounding area southwest of Alum Rock Park Plan Educate property owners to create Defensible Space around their homes. Investigate having fire hydrants installed on Poppy Lane. Priority* High because this is a problem area where SJFD faces significant challenges to protect the homes in the current situation. Access is limited and there are no fire hydrants on Poppy Lane.

Area 10A – Penitencia Creek Road and the Area Just North and West of the Penitencia Creek Entrance to Alum Rock Park on Penitencia Creek Road Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties, replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space so the San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* High for homes with wood shake roofs and dangerous vegetation including the dead trees and other fire prone vegetation on Dorel Drive across the street from the home that was destroyed during the October 2000 fire below Suncrest Avenue

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 1 Attachment D East Foothills Field Assessment Results

Area 10B – The Suncrest Avenue Area Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties, replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space so the San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* High for homes with wood shake roofs and dangerous vegetation

Area 10C – The Sierra Road Area Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties, replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space so the San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* High for homes with wood shake roofs and dangerous vegetation

b. Medium Priority Plans

Area 1B – The area at the corner of Crothers Road and Miradero Avenue Plan Limb up and trim back large, overhanging oak trees, remove hazardous small trees, fire prone underbrush and weeds. This area is San Jose City property and adjacent San Jose Water Company property which should be part of the existing fuel break and maintained annually as organized by the Supervisor of Alum Rock Park. Priority* Medium because, while this is a relatively small area and an important access and evacuation route which can be incorporated into the existing fuel break, this is the south, less fire prone, side of Alum Rock Park. * Priority for additional fuel reduction or other treatment as part of this plan

Area 2A – Country Club Heights and Other Homes on Peacock Gap Drive Plan Encourage property owners, including the City of San Jose for Alum Rock Park, to maintain properties so San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* Medium because this is a high fire danger area. High if the grassy fields across from the clubhouse are not disked and/or mowed (there had been mowed during our follow up survey on 7/13/06)

Area 2B – Crothers Road from Peacock Gap Drive to Mt. Hamilton Road Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties so San Jose Fire Department will continue to have better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively. This is particularly important for the homes on the private side roads (e.g., Echo Knolls Road and Clavering Hill Road, which are narrow and steep in some areas). One or two of these property owners have their own water supply and fire hoses, etc. Priority* Medium because a few parts are high fire danger areas and this is an important evacuation route

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 2 Attachment D East Foothills Field Assessment Results

Area 3A – Mt. Hamilton Road southwest from Crothers Road to Alum Rock Avenue Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties so San Jose Fire Department will continue to have better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively. This is particularly important for the homes on the private side roads some of which are narrow and steep. Priority* Medium because some parts are high fire danger areas and this is an important access and evacuation route

Area 4 – Clayton Road East from Mt. Pleasant Drive and North to Mt. Hamilton Road and Fleming Avenue East from Story Road Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties so San Jose Fire Department will continue to have better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* Medium because this is a high fire danger area, high in a few parts of this area

Area 5B – Higuera Road and Higuera Highlands Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties and create and maintain Defensible Space so San Jose Fire Department can fight fires in this area Priority* Medium because this area is more remote and a high fire danger area and water supplies are limited to private tanks for some areas

Area 6 – Quimby Road East from Ruby Avenue to Mt. Hamilton Road and Mt. Hamilton Road Northwest from Quimby Road to Crothers Road Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties and create and maintain Defensible Space so the SJFD and CDF can fight fires in this area Priority* Medium because this area is relatively remote and a high fire danger area and water supplies are limited to private tanks and reservoirs. There is a large area with dense vegetation and not much can be done to prevent wildfires except emphasize wildfire safety and to create and maintain Defensible Space around homes and other structures.

Area 10A – Penitencia Creek Road and the Area Just North and West of the Penitencia Creek Entrance to Alum Rock Park on Penitencia Creek Road Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties, replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space so the San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* Medium for most of this area because it is a high fire danger area with dangerous fuels

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 3 Attachment D East Foothills Field Assessment Results

Area 10B – The Suncrest Avenue Area Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties, replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space so the San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* Medium for most of this area because it is a high fire danger area with dangerous fuels

Area 10C – The Sierra Road Area Plan Encourage property owners to maintain properties, replace wood shake roofs and create Defensible Space so the San Jose Fire Department has better access to bring fire crews and equipment into this area and can fight fires more effectively Priority* Medium for most of this area because it is a high fire danger area with dangerous fuels.

It should be noted that we did not visit all the East Foothills areas and the plans above are representative examples rather than an exhaustive list of problem areas.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 4 Attachment D

Attachment E

Fire Resistant Plants

Fire resistant plants are less likely to burn as easily or rapidly as combustible plants. Examples of combustible plants include Italian Cypress, Junipers, Brooms and many exotic Grasses (see the Undesirable Plant List below). Fire resistant plants should receive routine care and be watered as directed to maintain their fire resistance.

The following is a sample list of deer, drought and fire resistant plants. Indicates erosion control, Not deer resistant, and “spp.” indicates more than one species are commonly grown. For specific selections appropriate to your area, contact your local nursery or visit the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Program at www.firewise.org.

Ground Covers Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) Evergreen with tiny white flowers. Sun to part shade. Cape Weed (Arctotheca calendula) Spreads quickly. Yellow daisy-like flowers. Full sun. Gazania (Rigens leucolaena) Silver-gray foliage with white, yellow or orange flowers. Full sun. Rosea Ice Plant (Drosanthemum floribundum) Succulent, grows on steep slopes. Bright blooms. Full sun. Wooly Yarrow (Achillea tomentosa) Bright yellow blooms with fernlike fuzzy leaves. Sun to shade.

Woody Ground Covers Aaron’s Beard (Hypericum calycinum) Bright yellow blooms. Semi-deciduous. Sun to shade. Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) Bright green leaves with white to pink flowers. Full sun. Dwarf Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis) Billowy with small green leaves. Grows on steep slopes. Full sun. Dwarf Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Tiny blueflowers. Grows on steep slopes. Full sun. (Maintenance needed to reduce dead plant material)

Shrubs Blueblossom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus) Full sun. Shiny green foliage with blue blossom clusters. Escallonia (Escallonia spp.) Sun to partial shade. Flower clusters with waxy green leaves. Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia) Large green leaves with flower clusters. Sun to part shade. Oleander (Nerium oleander) Blooms year round. Green dense foliage. Poisonous if ingested. Full sun. Rockrose (Cistus spp.) Most varieties with gray-green foliage & 2” blooms. Full sun. Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) Dark green leathery leaves with white blooms. Sun to part shade.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 1 Attachment E

Fire Resistant Plants (Cont.)

Perennials California Fuchsia (Zauschneria californica) Dark red trumpet blooms, re-growth in spring. Full sun. Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) Semi-evergreen with large bright blooms. Sun to part shade. Lavender (Lavandula spp.) Fragrant with silver-gray foliage. Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus spp.) Smooth green foliage with blue, violet or white blooms. Sun to shade. Sage (Salvia spp.) Most varieties herbaceous foliage with varied blooms. Sun to part shade. Sticky Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus) Green narrow leaves, profuse blooms & colors. Sun to shade.

Evergreen Trees African Sumac (Rhus lancea) 15-20’. Full weepy branches with berry-like clusters. Sun to part shade. California Pepper (Schinus molle) Grows to 40’. Full sun. Graceful branches with clusters of berries. (Regular pruning and maintenance needed) Catalina Cherry (Prunus lyonii) Shrub/tree to 30’. Showy white flowers followed by red fruits. Full sun. Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) Grows to 40’. Shiny texture leaves with dark bark. Sun to part shade. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) Up to 40’. Bears dark “fruit pods” with dark green leaves. Sun to part shade. Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis) Shrub/tree to 18’. Color dramatically changes with seasons. Deciduous. Full sun.

Evergreen Vines Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) Fine dark green foliage with red-orange clusters. Sun to shade. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) White fragrant blooms with glossy leaves. Sun to part shade.

Source: Santa Clara County FireSafe Council Living With Fire in Santa Clara County, Page 17.1 This document also provides recommendations for Fire Safe Landscape Design (Page 14) and Planting Trees Near Power Lines (Page 15).

1 See http://www.sccfiresafe.org/FireSafe/LivingWithFire.htm Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 2 Attachment E

Undesirable Plant List

This undesirable plant list includes examples of plant species that are not desirable in a wildland urban interface landscape. The local Fire Authority has ultimate approval on which plants are appropriate for fuel modification areas.

Trees

Fir Trees Abies species Acacia Acacia species Juniper Myrtle Agonis juniperina Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria species Bottlebrush Callistemon species Cedar Cedrus species False Cypress Chamaecyparis species Camphor Tree Cinnamomum camphora Japanese Cryptomeria Cryptomeria japonica Cypress Cupressus species Eucalyptus Eucalyptus species Juniper Juniperus species Larch Larix species Olive Tree Olea europaea Palms Palm species Pine Pinus species Fern Pine Podocarpus species Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii California Pepper Tree Schinus molle (unless properly maintained) Brazilian Pepper Tree Schinus terebinthefolius Tamarix Tamarix species Cypress Taxodium species Yew Taxus species Hemlock Tsuga species California Fan Palm Washingtonia filifera

Groundcovers, Shrubs and Vines

Acacia Acacia species Chamise Adenostoma fasciculatum Red Shanks Adenostoma sparsifolium Mayweed Anthemix cotula Madrone Arbutus menziesii Manzanita Arctostaphylos species (other than uva-ursi) Giant Reed Arundo donax Saltbush Atriplex species Coyote Bush (other than Dwarf varieties) Baccharis pilularis Bamboo Bambusa species Bougainvillea Bougainvillea species Black Mustard Brassica nigra Yellow Mustard Brassica rapa Noary Cress Carderia draba Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 3 Attachment E

Hottentot Fig Carpobrotus species Wild Artichoke Cirsium vulgare Horseweed Conyza canadensis Prostrate Coprosma Coprosma pumila Pampas Grass Cortaderia selloana Artichoke Thistle Cynara cardunculus Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius Hopseed Bush Dodonea viscose Common Buckwheat Eriogonum species Flannel Bush Fremontodendron species English Ivy Hedera helix Telegraph Plant Heterotheca grandiflora Juniper Juniperus species Prickly Lettuce Lactuca serriola Japanese Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica Mahonia Mahonia species Eulalie Grass Miscanthus species Deer Grass Muehlenbergia species Indian Tobacco Nicotania bigelevil Tree Tobacco Nicotania glauca Fountain Grass Pennisetum setaceum Russian Sage Perronskia atriplicifloria Chaparral Pea Pickeringia montana Laurel Sumac Rhus laurina Pink Flowering Sumac Rhus lentii Castor Bean Ricinus communis Russian Thistle Sacsola austails Black Sage Salvia mellifera Purple Nightshade (toxic) Solanium xantii Milk Thistle Sylibum marianum Arborvitae Thuja species Poison Oak (worker/firefighter safety) Toxicodenderon diversiloba Burning Nettle Urtica urens Periwinkle Vinca major

Notes:

1. Please use this list as a guide in selecting plant material. Remember that all plant material will burn under various conditions. 2. The absence of a particular plant, shrub, groundcover, or tree from this list does not necessarily mean it is fire resistive. 3. The local Fire Authority has ultimate approval on which plants are appropriate for fuel modification areas. 4. Landscape architects may submit proposals for use of certain vegetation on a project specific basis. They should also provide justifications as to the fire resistivity of the proposed vegetation.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 4 Attachment E

Attachment F

East Foothills Fuel Reduction Projects

The following specific East Foothills Fuel Reduction projects support the plans from the field surveys in Attachment D (see Section III.A.3). The general projects (Community Outreach and Education Programs and Chipping Programs) referenced in the tables below are summarized in Section IV.E.1.

a. High Priority Projects

These projects support the High Priority plans from the field surveys in Attachment D.

Project and Area Problem Proposed Solution 1. Grassy Field There is a large grassy field and some x Community Outreach and Near Vista large trees below Vista Vineyard Education Program Vineyard (between Chula Vista Court and Pablo x Contact City Hazardous (Area 9B) Avenue). This field is important Vegetation because it can be part of a natural fuel break near the southwest side of Alum x Chipping Program if Rock Park. The grassy fuels were cut in needed late 2006 but annual maintenance is required. 2. Poppy Lane Poppy Lane is a significant problem area x Community Outreach and (Area 9C) adjacent to the southwest side of Alum Education Program Rock Park. There are no fire hydrants x Chipping Program on this street and most homes do not have adequate Defensible Space. The x Install Fire Hydrants on hazardous fuel in this area threatens the Poppy Lane (How? – The homes on Poppy Lane, the homes above east side of Poppy Lane is at the end of Enchanto Vista Drive and unincorporated, the west Chula Vista Court and adjacent homes side is part of Rock on Rock Canyon Circle. Canyon circle which is in the San Jose City limits) 3. Dorel Drive There are dead trees and other fire prone x Community Outreach and (Area 10A) vegetation on Dorel Drive across the Education Program street from the home that was destroyed x Work with the City and during the October 2000 fire below Alum Rock Supervisor to Suncrest Avenue. address this problem 4. Wood Shake There are homes with wood shake roofs x Community Outreach and Roofs and and without adequate Defensible Space Education Program for Defensible in many areas (e.g., 10A, 10B, and 10C wood shake roofs Space (Many west and north of Alum Rock Park) x Chipping Program for Areas) Defensible Space if needed

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 1 Attachment F East Foothills Fuel Reduction Projects

b. Medium Priority Projects

These projects support the Medium Priority plans from the field surveys in Attachment D.

Project and Area Problem Proposed Solution 1. Crothers The Crothers Road Fuel Break from x Maintain annually Road Fuel Alum Rock Avenue to Peacock Gap (currently organized by Break Drive is an important fuel break and Alum Rock Park Facilities (Area 1B) access and evacuation route. Supervisor) x Expand to include City of San Jose Property at the corner of Miradero Avenue and Crothers Road 2. Country The grassy fields east and north of x Request property owners Club Heights Country Club Heights are a significant maintain annually and Peacock fire hazard, especially for the northern x Contact County Hazardous Gap Drive units adjacent to Alum Rock Park. Vegetation (Area 2B) 3. Crothers The Crothers Road Fuel Break from x Expand the fuel break on Road Fuel Peacock Gap Drive to Mt. Hamilton both sides of Crothers Break Road is an important fuel break and Road just south of Peacock (Area 2B) access and evacuation route. Gap Drive 4. Mt. Hamilton Mt. Hamilton Road is an important fuel x Community Outreach and Road (Areas break and access and evacuation route Education Program 3A and 6) (e.g., to/from Crothers Road, Clayton x Chipping Program Road, Quimby Road, Mt. Hamilton, Lick Observatory). 5. Lower The large, grassy fields along lower x Request property owners Clayton Clayton Road (e.g., near Ervin Way and maintain annually Road Grassy Marten Avenue) are not being disked. x Contact County Hazardous Fields This is a significant danger for the Vegetation (Area 4) nearby homes. 6. Carmelite The fire path along the south side of the x Request Carmelite Fathers Fathers Fire Carmelite Fathers property is not being maintain the Defensible Path (Area 4) maintained. This is important because it Space around their is their only protection from fires property coming up the steep grassy slope on this side of their property. 7. Higuera Higuera Road and Higuera Highlands is x Community Outreach and Road and a remote, high fire danger area and water Education Program Highlands supplies are limited to private tanks for x Chipping Program (Area 5B) some areas.

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 2 Attachment F East Foothills Fuel Reduction Projects

Project and Area Problem Proposed Solution 8. Quimby Quimby Road (especially the eastern x Community Outreach and Road section as it approaches Mt. Hamilton Education Program (Area 6) Road) is a remote, high fire danger area x Chipping Program and water supplies are limited to private tanks for some areas. 9. Fire Access Fire access route signs are needed to Facilitate installation of fire Route Signs keep the access routes clear of parked access route signs: (e.g., Areas 8 cars and other obstructions x Between Gordon (near and 9A) Greenside) and Valley View Avenue (Area 8) x At the ends of Enchanto Vista Drive and Chula Vista Court (Area 9A) 10. Penitencia Eucalyptus trees on north side of x Request Santa Clara Creek Road Penitencia Creek Road (e.g., near County Roads and Airports Eucalyptus Toyon) – need to be maintained. They Department limb up trees Trees are close to nearby homes and Penitencia and remove debris (Area 10A) Creek Road is an access and evacuation annually (these trees are on route for Alum Rock Park. the County right of way) 11. Water A number of private water supplies are x Encourage property Supplies not identified on the SJFD maps. More owners to identify water (All Areas water sources are needed in some areas. supplies and notify SJFD Without of their existence Nearby Fire x Encourage property Hydrants) owners to provide water supplies where there are no fire hydrants

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 3 Attachment F